Our Life as Riley

Works Of Art

2012-01-18T20:35:00.004-06:00

Both of the boys had pieces of art work that they have done at school on display at the Parkway West Regional Art Show this year. We were so proud of them both. There were pieces by children in grades K through 12 and some AMAZING works of art by all levels!

Jack's pieces are a Bedtime Bear & School bus and Mason's is a scarecrow

Happy New Year

2012-01-05T10:21:00.006-06:00

From our home to yours, wishing you a new year of happy memories and good health.

2011-10-28T00:01:00.000-05:00

Seven!

2011-10-20T00:01:00.000-05:00

How is it that in a blink of an eye, he can go from this......

To this.......

Happy 7th Birthday, Jack Henry!!! We are so proud of you and love you more than you will ever know!

XOXOX

Mommy & Daddy

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-14T13:23:00.002-05:00

9 Years Ago

2011-08-31T00:01:00.000-05:00

9 years ago today was ONE of the best days of my life. The day that I married my best friend and soulmate and we began a new chapter in our life.

I remember the day like it was just yesterday. We had frantically pulled our wedding together in 2 months in order to do it on a long weekend when our family and friends from out of town could travel in to be with us on our special day. 40 people were with us to be exact. A small intimate group, but those people who had supported us during our relationship and who had all "BEEN THERE" for us when we needed them the most.

9 years of marriage has brought Tim and I so many things it's hard to list them all but the biggest being a new home and a family of our own. I wouldn't want my life to be any other way!

Happy Anniversary, Honey! I love you more than you will ever know!

I said "Yes"

2011-08-25T00:01:00.002-05:00

19 years ago today, that incredibly handsome guy up above, who is my best friend, husband and father of my children, took me on our first date.

A concert at what was then, Riverport Amphitheater, to see Eric Clapton. I went under the guise that it was 1) a free concert and 2) that I was not even remotely interested in starting a relationship with him but knew it would be a great night regardless.

It was hotter than all get out and I remember trying to get ready at my Mom's house (I had just moved home from college and was UGH, living with my Mom!). The power was out and I was NOT happy!

The night was great, concert was amazing and all went well until it was time to leave. Tim had forgotten where he parked his GRAY PONTIAC GRAND AM in the sea of cars that was the parking lot at Riverport. We walked around for at least an hour and passed the same people multiple times until we finally found it.

We get back to the car and he opens up his trunk and in it is a cooler, he opens it up and it was STOCKED with food!!! Fruit, sandwiches, drinks! What an awesome guy! That was just one of the many things that made me change my mind about him. Had I not said YES to his invite to join him at that concert, my life would probably be different now.

I am so thankful that I said "YES"!

The First Day Of School

2011-08-24T09:39:00.004-05:00

Last week was the first day of school for both of the boys. We now have a First Grader and a Kindergartener. Where has the time gone? It feels like just yesterday I was counting down the days until Jack's arrival and look at him now.....Mason has changed right before our eyes. Our boys are growing up and aren't babies anymore.

Life Rolls On

2011-04-18T08:51:00.004-05:00

Life continues to roll on with us! We almost have our first year of kindergarten behind us. Jack was a stud in his indoor soccer league. Lots of friends andbirthday parties and both boys are starting baseball this Spring. They just continue to get bigger and bigger before our eyes. In three days, we will have a FIVE year old and a SIX AND A HALF year old! I'm not sure where the time has gone. I'm almost afraid to blink for fear they will be graduating from High School if I do!

Worthy Of A Blog Post

2011-02-06T16:25:00.020-06:00

A year ago, I used to be an avid Blogger. Blogging weekly and sometimes daily about my life until a voluntary career change pulled me away from my "free time" and caused me to lose touch with the Blogging world. I rarely read the Blogs that I regularly followed and as you can see from the date of my last Blog post....I rarely post too.

But.....this is something that occured because of MY BLOG and is definitely worth of Blogging about. So here I go.....

On Memorial Day 2009, with the help of my brother Hank's Blog, I posted THIS POST about remembering those who fight and who have fought for our freedom. Nothing special, just a post from the heart about being thankful for our freedoms and remembering those, especially Lt. Tom Costen, who was a POW in Operation Desert Storm in 1991 and ultimately killed. I didn't think anything of it....until a couple of weeks ago, when I opened up my email and found a notice that someone had posted a comment to my blog. This is what it said: "My name is Jan. I am in possession of an Operation Desert Storm bracelet with Lt. William T Costen's name engraved on it. (St. Louis U.S.N. POW 1991 age 27) I would like to return this bracelet to his family. My email is..."

At first I was a bit skeptical as I periodically got "SPAM" comments when I was actively blogging but they had stopped. But this one made me hesitate. Hesitate from deleting it and actually made me respond to the comment with some interest. Much to my surprise the person responded back to me and it lead into a week of emails back and forth, a real conversation with a complete and utter stranger. A stranger named Jan.

Jan's Father was in US Air Force, fought in WW II, Korea and Vietnam, her husband was a US Marine who fought in Vietnam and her son is now a US Marine. To say that her life has been all about the US Military is probably an understatement. She has lived and breathed it all of her life. In one of her emails to me, Jan explained that she didn't know where she came to obtain the bracelet that she had with Tommy's info on it, she thought it may have been from a fund raiser during Operation Desert Storm but that she felt very deeply about wanting his family to have it. Ultimately, our conversations ended with my offering to help her return it to Tommy's family knowing how to reach his Mother and/or Father's widow, and waiting to see if she would send it to me....a complete and utter stranger to her.

Yesterday, as I was hanging out at home with Tim and the boys, the door bell rang and there on the ground was a package addressed to me.....from Jan. I was shocked! She sent it! She really sent it! I started to open it as the boys asked "What is it Mommy? What is it?" I hadn't told Tim anything about my email exchanges with Jan for fear that he'd think I was nuts; so I started explaining the story to him. I read Jan's letter to him and then opened the gold foil box that accompanied and this is what I found.... This beautiful bracelet - with Tommy's information on it.

I had chills reading Jan's letter and still do today as I type my post. The power of the Internet amazes me. Once just a vast unknown, it is now a way of life for all of us. Facebook has grown from what I thought was a stupid and pointless website, to an amazing way connecting with friends and something that has brought me back in contact with those I had lost touch with a long time ago and a way of just "keeping in touch" with others.

The Internet is a tool for banking, for Blogging and to find things that we're searching for and that's exactly what Jan did! Into Google or whatever search engine she was using she typed in Lt. Tom Costen's name and there in the list of links that was returned to her was my blog post that contained his name. Had I not taken the info from my brother's Blog and posted it into mine, Jan and I would have never been connected. We would have never communicated, and never been able to return the bracelet to Tommy's family as she wished to do.

So......tomorrow I am going to help Jan do what she set out to do when she commented on my Blog; Return this beautiful bracelet to the family of Lt. Costen. A somewhat awkward phone call it will be to make. But one that I will be very proud and honored to make - because I will be doing it In Honor of someone who fought bravely for ME & for Jan. Two complete and utter stragers - connected by two things, the Internet and a bracelet.

We've Been On Vacation

2010-07-12T21:32:00.001-05:00

We're Alive - Here's Proof!

2010-06-07T21:46:00.003-05:00

Sorry to be such a negligent blogger. Life has just taken me on a different path right now and blogging is not top on my list of things to do! We're still alive. Boys are healthy and doing well. Tim and I are great! We're just busy.

2010-05-09T00:01:00.000-05:00

Swimmingly

2010-05-02T07:40:00.004-05:00

It's time to learn to swim. Jack and Mason are NOT fond of the water (at least swimming in it) and at the prodding of parents, we've enrolled them in a Swim America Swim Program. We forewarned the instructor that they might not even get in but to our surprise, the cute young girl, enticed them in and at the end they said that "it was fun!".

No we didn't get heads wet or put our faces in but it's a step - and now with a little enticing of my own, hopefully we'll see some progression in the next four weeks so that we have two children who like the water and will have fun this summer - keep your fingers crossed!

FOUR!

2010-04-20T00:01:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe that four whole years, a total of 1460 days have passed since this sweet precious little boy came into the world and made our family complete. Making Tim a Daddy again, me a Mommy again, and Jack a BIG BROTHER!

Yes, sometimes I wonder how we survived his first year with countless trips to the pediatrician, hospitalizations, pulling him out of daycare for a month to get him healthy and MANY MANY MANY sleepless nights just worrying about him. But we did it....and then some!

Now, he's full of life, of fire and of attitude. He's his own person. Strong willed, determined and loving are probably the three words that I can best describe him by. Three words to me that will always remind me of Mason. He will always be my baby! But today....he's FOUR!

Happy Birthday, Mason!
Mommy, Daddy & Jack Love You!

XOXOXO

A Painting PAW-ty!

2010-04-19T21:00:00.004-05:00

How do you celebrate a 4th Birthday? Why...with a visit to The Painting Paw, in Chesterfield for some time to let your creative juices flow! Mason, along with Jack, Sophie & three of his friends from school spent some time on Sunday celebrating his birthday and had a BLAST!

Yes, he was partially influenced by Mommy for his venue selection, but how could we pass it up when Stacey Donnelly and her staff at The Painting Paw do it ALL for you when you throw a PAW-ty! The invites, the fun, the cake..... I didn't have to lift a finger! And....the best part.....a week later you pick up your pieces of artwork and have a souvenir to remember your special day by.

Thanks to everyone who joined us! We had a great time and were so glad that you could celebrate with us.

Easter Easter Easter

2010-04-09T19:50:00.002-05:00

In The Blog House!

2010-04-02T21:56:00.004-05:00

I was informed this evening by my sister (Thanks D!) that I am a sucky blogger now that I have a job that keeps me off of the internet during the day (which is perfectly fine by me). So I lack in updates but what is really sad is that we have no real ultra blogworthy updates anyway!

Weather has been normal, boys have been healthy, Tim & I have been healthy, the boys got new shoes (so what) and they are now official card carrying members of......................the St. Louis County Library! Yep, Library Cards! We took our first adventure a couple of weeks ago and came home with 15 books and 1 DVD! But you don't want to hear about that do you? No...

So........I have nothing to share except for these cute pictures of Easters past! Until next time! {Smooches}

Smiling At Spring

2010-03-07T16:13:00.000-06:00

A Little Of This A Little Of That

2010-02-28T16:04:00.005-06:00

There is only one word to describe my life right now and it's busy. But it's a good busy. My days of updating my blog during lunch are a thing of the past as I am finding myself working THROUGH my lunches right now. But the job.....it's AWESOME! It's going so well I couldn't be happier. There's still so much to learn but I am surrounded by some wonderful people who are so helpful and willing to listen to me ask my questions and help me through my lack of understanding.

As for life at home with Tim and the boys....we've been up to a little of this and a little of that. Two bouts of the stomach bug (nope, no pictures from that!) but thankfully only a short 4 hours of misery before it subsided.

We had a visit with Moots......

And a trip to the bowling alley just to work off some of our pent up energy.....

And then spent a morning with some creative fun!

Just a little of this and a little of that. Nothing too major or all that exciting. I knew that it was about time for an update before someone starting wondering what had happened to me and my blog. So here it is............the obligatory update for all of you who are still followers! We are all alive and kickin and doing well.

XOXOX

A New Chapter

2010-02-05T15:00:00.003-06:00

This afternoon, I turned the page and finished a 13 1/2 year chapter of my life so far. A career that turned me into a business professional. A career that allowed me to prove to myself that I can do anything and I can make a difference.

Monday morning, I walk into to a new office, a new industry and a new world with a new future ahead of me. While I am petrified to step out of my "comfort zone" and explore these new and uncharted waters for myself, I know that unless I take the first step, I could possibly miss out on a great opportunity that may never present itself to me again.

Here's to the future and what lay ahead for me.....stay tuned for the next chapter.

To be continued..........

Smarter

2010-02-01T14:09:00.003-06:00

I found these glasses this past weekend when I was cleaning out a closet. They were from a swimsuit, hat, tshirt combo that we got as a gift when Jack was born. The boys are getting a kick out of wearing them as regular glasses. Jack said they make him SMARTER!

A Spotlight All His Own

2010-01-27T00:01:00.000-06:00

So as not to be upstaged, out-shown {if that's even a word} or given less "face time" than his brother, here is Mason's very own blog post. A spotlight all his own! Isn't he just too cute? Believe me...it's saved him many times in his short 3 1/2 year old life!

And yes...that is the face that I got when I asked him to smile!

We Have A Kindergartener

2010-01-26T07:00:00.001-06:00

Today, we signed this little boy

up for Kindergarten! OMG! Where has the time gone? It seems like just yesterday we were bringing home this little helpless bundle

who was OUR SON and now he's enrolled to enter Kindergarten starting on August 17th! He's not a baby anymore! {sigh}

Soles4Souls - Your Old Soles Could Help Haiti

2010-01-19T00:01:00.000-06:00

Haiti has been on our minds nonstop since the devastating earthquake last week, but now that donations have been made to some worthy charities, we are stuck with what else can we do?

What else? Donate shoes.

Soles4Souls has partnered with Foot Solutions to try to get as many gently-worn shoes to the people of Haiti. From little sneakers for a child, to sturdy work boots for an adult clearing rubble, all types of basic footwear are needed except probably snow boots. But, if you have those, send them along since Soles4Souls will be sure to find a home for those somewhere else.

I have donated shoes to this organization before, and it feels great to know that those barely-worn sandals my toddler outgrew in a month, or the running sneakers I hardly ever use will serve their purpose. They will even take half-pairs if your dog made a meal out of its mate. It makes me happy to know that even if we can't all make a big monetary donation, there's still something great to be done. -Christina

To find a drop-off location near you, just go to Soles4Souls and check for a location. Or, if you want to do a larger collection among friends or neighbors, you can ship them to one of their warehouse locations.

Original story taken from www.coolmompicks.com

Alive And Kicking!

2010-01-18T11:09:00.002-06:00

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately but things are just status quo at our house. And that is a good thing. We spent the first weeks of the New Year just trying to stay warm with our subzero temps in St. Louis and really haven't had too much to share.

The boys are good - staying healthy and behaving as best as they can. We had their "Winter Gala" at school last week (the Christmas Program that wasn't a Christmas Program) and I have a few videos of Jack's class (Mason got stage fright and freaked out so he didn't participate) but I have yet to upload them to the computer.

This weekend we went to Sophie's 3rd Birthday party at Build A Bear Workshop (see Hank & Tricia's Blog Post HERE)and had a great time. Both of the boys created new friends and they have not left their sides since we got home!

Other than that, nothing new or earth shattering to report - just wanted to make sure everyone knew that we were alive and kicking!

Happy Birthday, Sophie!

2010-01-15T08:21:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday, Sophie!

We Love You!

Ya Ya, Uncle Tim, Jack & Mason

Wordless Wednesday: Pray For Haiti

2010-01-13T11:43:00.001-06:00

My heart breaks for the people of Haiti and can't imagine the devistation that they are experiencing to their homes and their lives. Life will never be the same for them.

Happy Birthday, Bear!

2010-01-07T00:01:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday, Bear (aka Pop)!

We love you!

Have a great day!!!

Reflections Of My Past

2010-01-06T00:01:00.001-06:00

So many people that I know have looked at their past and documented what happened to them in the past decade so I decided that I'd give it a whirl. Reflecting back, some of it was good, some of it could be classified as "best moments of my life", and the others.....we'll I'll just say I'll leave them with my past.

So here we go:
- Our house was broken into the day after Christmas - bad guys took more than just electronics, it was the first time I didn't feel "Safe" in my own home.
- Went on my first cruise (and loved it)
- Lost my Grandfather to prostate cancer
- Experienced 9/11 from a far
- Was proposed to a second time by Tim
- Planned our wedding in a record 6 wks
- Got married to my best friend in the whole wide world - 8/31/2002
- Put our house (make that Tim's house) on the market FSBO (hoping to sell it fast)
- Sold our house FAST (that was a relief)
- Bought our "first home" together
- Went on a belated honeymoon in Negril, Jamaica
- Found out that we brought back a souvenir from Negril - I was PREGNANT!
- Moved into our new home
- Had our first child - 10/20/2004
- Tim lost his father to Colon Cancer
- Welcomed a new nephew into the world from a far
- Got pregnant again and experienced the heartbreak of a miscarriage
- Got pregnant again (obviously it wasn't hard for me to do)
- Had our second child (and called it quits there)- 4/20/2006
- Survived the first year with two children under 2 1/2 (it was filled with a lot of illness by all of us!)
- Experienced many "firsts" and "milestones" as a parent
- Started blogging as a way to keep family & friends up to day on our goings on
- Successfully potty trained two boys! {That to me was a huge accomplishment}
- Turned 40 - 10/17/2008
- Got my first tattoo (and so want to get another)- 10/17/2008
- Welcomed a niece, from across the globe, into our family
- Lost my Grandmother to Cancer
- Said hello to a BRAND NEW DECADE!

Whoa - that's a fair amount of stuff! I'm sure that I've forgotten SOMETHING of some significant importance but hey, you can't remember it all

Take 10% Off!

2010-01-04T08:53:00.007-06:00

Starting 1/1/10 - my little side job, selling personalized stationery and paper products has gone online! I'm so excited because it will give so many people a greater access to such wonderful products.

For the month of January - as a way to celebrate our online presence, Paperly is offering 10% OFF of all orders placed through my website!

That's a GREAT savings and a wonderful way to restock on your stationery and note cards that you just used up writing your "Thank You's" for all those Christmas presents that you just got!

So................check out my website - www.mypaperly.com/libbyriley and order away! If you have any questions, please let me know!

Happy New Year

Come Shopping ONLINE with Me!

2010-01-01T00:01:00.000-06:00

Yes, that's right!!!!

I'm ONLINE and ready for you to come shopping with ME!!!

My website www.mypaperly.com/libbyriley is up and running and effective today, 1/1/2010 you can place orders directly through my site!

How easy is that?!

Of course, if you have questions about ANYTHING or would like to host a Paperly get together at your home, you can contact me directly but now you have the ease of ordering at your fingertips!

Please bookmark my site and shop with me in 2010! Monthly specials will be shown on my website as well.

I also ask that you please pass this link along to anyone else that you might think would be interested in my Paperly products.

Thanks so much! Happy New Year and Happy Shopping!!!!

S-N-O-W

2009-12-29T10:38:00.003-06:00

Winter offically arrived on 12/21 and since then we have had three days of snow. Nothing major like some parts of the country have already had but enough to get the boys excited and asking "Can we go out and play in the snow!?!?".

Sunday was one of those days..............so they suited up and headed out in the snow to play with Daddy. I went out long enough to snap a few pictures and then headed to the grocery store for my weekly trip. Unfortunately, the snow was powder and not good snowman making snow so all that could be done was a few poorly packed snowballs and a game of "Hide N Seek".

Please excuse the big green booger in Mason's nose, he's had a cold!

At least they had fun while it lasted! That's what counts right?

A Very Merry Christmas - Indeed!

2009-12-28T09:28:00.018-06:00

Once again, we had a wonderful Christmas at our house. Having two children who are of the age that Christmas is truly a magical time of the year, just makes it that much more special. The anticipation, the excitement, the thrill.....it brings it all back home for me.

Wednesday night, while the sky was filled with mist and rain here in St. Louis, Tim, the boys and I loaded into my car and headed to Santa's Magical Kingdom to see the BAZILLION Christmas Lights that hang from the trees and everywhere. To hear Mason whisper "AWWWWESOME!" to himself as he saw what lay in front of the car was something that I will not soon forget.

Thursday morning, Tim and I awoke to thundering feet and the screeches of "We got another note from Santa!" as the boys ran into our room. You see, along with our special Scout Elf, Oliver, this year, I have been using candy cane bordered note cards that I found on the shelf in our home office as stationery from Santa. At least once a week since Oliver's arrival, he has returned in the morning with a special note to Jack & Mason from Santa. This one said: "Jack & Mason, The reindeer are hitched and my sleigh is loaded up. I'll be by tonight after you are asleep. Thanks for taking such good care of Oliver for Mrs Claus and I. ~Santa"

The rest of the day was spent gearing up for Christmas. We made our special cookies for Santa, tracked the big guys travels through NORAD and then headed out to spend the evening with Hank, Tricia & Sophie for a little family time. The children played and we sang Christmas songs with them that gave us all flash backs of Christmas 2008 when Sophie sat nodding her head as we sang "Jingle Bells" like she understood everything we were singing when in fact she coudn't understand a single word. My how things have changed in such a short 12 month period of time!

The evening was wrapped up by leaving out our cookies and milk for Santa and the carrots for the reindeer and then Daddy reading "The Night Before Christmas" to the boys like he has every year since Jack was born. After realizing that Santa was not too far from our house, the boys jumped into bed and were quickly asleep allowing Tim and I to go to work and help Santa deliver his goodies!

We also bid a fond farwell to Oliver as we boxed him up and returned him to the confines of the basement for another year. {Oh how I wish I could some how keep him up all year long!}

Christmas morning, along with having the extra special touch of a Christmas snowfall, was a flurry of wrapping paper and presents flying as the boys very excitedly raced through their presents. Nintendo DS Games, a basketball, TAG reader, Legos, ornaments and LOTS of games were just some of the many presnts that Santa brought to the boys. Me? I got to enjoy watching my children marvel at their loot and know that they were one of the many who were on Santa's "Nice List" this year. Yes, by the end of the day I was ready for a xanax and to climb into my bed and call it a day, but it's that what being a parent is all about? I wouldn't want it any other way.

The rest of the weekend was spent in what I like to call "recovery mode". Cleaning up, rearranging toys and finding new homes for the games and what not that are now part of our lives and just trying to relax a bit and enjoy some down time.

Saturday night we had a great get together with some of my friends from High School and their families. The Carl's (Northern Chaos) were in town from Alaska for the holidays and along with The Miller's and another dear friend, we spent the evening catching up and laughing while our 6 children very contentedly played Wii in the basement for what seemed to be HOURS AND HOURS! Thanks Bets, for allowing us to invade your home and thanks Kerry for squeezing us in, and Linda, thanks for making it! I can't remember the last time we were able to sit and chat like that!. It is always fun to see everyone and catch up. It's so nice to have such wonderful friends in our life that we enjoy spending time with.

FOUR Days at home! We were home for FOUR DAYS - and somehow it just flew by! The holiday is over but the decorations still are up. Those will come down this weekend as we say good bye to 2009 and welcome in a new decade. One that I have a feeling shows great promise for us......................

MY List For Santa

2009-12-21T09:24:00.002-06:00

Dear Santa,

I've been a good Mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited the doctor's office more than my own doctor, sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground. I was hoping you could spread my list out – over several Christmases perhaps.

Since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles; and who knows when I'll find any more free time in the next 18 years, so now - -

*** Here are my Christmas wishes ***

I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (-in any color, except purple, which I already have), arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze; but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy aisle in the grocery store. I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy.

If you're hauling big-ticket items this year, I'd like fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music; a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals; and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.

On the practical side, I could use a talking robot that says, 'Yes, Mommy' to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools.

I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting, 'Don't eat in the Family Room' and 'Take our hands off your brother,' because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by a dog.

If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.

If you don't mind, I could also use a few miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely. It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family.

Well, the buzzer on the dryer is ringing, and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his red crayon back.

Have a safe trip Santa, and remember to leave your wet boots by the door, and come in and dry off, so you don't catch cold. Help yourself to cookies on the table, but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet please.

Yours always with love and appreciation,

Libby Riley

A Weekend Of Baking

2009-12-20T15:49:00.002-06:00

Snowballs, peanut butter balls, rocky road fudge, white chocolate with gumdrops, and good old tollhouse chocolate chip cookies. ~ Yummy!

2009-12-16T19:22:00.000-06:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

2009-12-16T15:42:00.000-06:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

"Jingle Belz" & A Visit From Santa

2009-12-15T00:01:00.000-06:00

An annual event for my brother, Hank and his wife, their "Jingle Belz" party was held this past Saturday. Initially held as an out of control party of drinking and festivities for friends and anyone else who got wind of the party, it has turned into more of a "Family Friendly" celebration with friends and their children and also a way to mark the anniversay of Sophie joining her forever family last year.

The highlight of the night was a personal visit from Santa himself! Who knew that we had such connections? Wow! A truly magical moment for all of us to see the Magic Of Christms through our children's eyes!

Thanks Hank, Tricia & Sophie for a great "Jingle Belz" and a very special thanks to Mr. Art Raske for stopping by and making our night!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

From Our Home To Yours.....

2009-12-14T08:59:00.001-06:00

Hey Uncle Chris! This One's For You!

2009-12-11T13:17:00.002-06:00

At school, the boys have been learning about Occupations. In one of the activity boxes, they have a Firefighter costume that the children can put on and pretend in. Mason decided that he wanted to be a firefighter JUST LIKE his Uncle Chris is!

Christopher, we are SO PROUD of you! Congratulations, Fairfax County FD will be very lucky to have you as a member of their team!

3rd Annual Holiday Construction!

2009-12-10T14:22:00.008-06:00

Another one of my favorite traditions that I have started with the boys during the holidays is making a gingerbread house. Our first year it was more of ME making it and the boys watching because they were just too young to "Get it". Now it's different.

This year, the "Mommy when are we going to make a gingerbread house?" started the day after Thanksgiving. It took everything that I could do to hold them off until last weekend and then the asking became more of a constant nagging. So in order to save my sanity, I broke down and bought the kit to make our annual house. Yes, I use a kit....I'm not Martha Stewart! I'd rather have the pieces baked and ready for me. The kits are great! You get the house pieces, the royal icing powder, 5 different types of candies and an icing bag and tip.

The way we do it is the boys help mix up the icing and then "Eeeewwww" as I try to get the messy glops of icing into the piping bag, I construct the house, we let it dry for the alloted 3 to 4 hours to allow the royal icing to turn to concrete and then it's time to go to town. I add fresh icing to the roof and other parts of the house and the boys go to town and decorate how ever they choose.

Eventually, the novelty of the decorating wears off, they get tired of sitting still and the candy starts to disappear into the depts of their tummies so I'm left to finish up with them either directing me where to put what or I just take control of the situation and finish up as quickly as possible.

So this is what we ended up with this year....

Hard To Believe

2009-12-09T00:00:00.002-06:00

It's hard to believe that in a year, this little girl...

who was tiny, scared and shy and knew NOTHING of a family half-way around the world who loved her so very much, has turned into this little girl.....

who is happy, thriving, bubby and full of spirit! A little girl who is loved more than anyone can ever tell her. A little girl who has come out of her shell and become a part of her "Forever Family".

Happy Gotcha Day to my little brother, Hank, his wife, Tricia, and their BEAUTIFUL daughter, Sophie Lee Nguyen Belz!!! Sophie, we are so happy that you are a part of our lives and are amazed at how much you have changed in the past year!!!

XOXOX

Ya Ya, Uncle Tim, Jack & Mason

P.S. If you have a spare 30 minutes, hop on over to Sophie's Story and check out a beautiful video that my brother put together that highlights their first year as a Forever Family! It brought tears to my eyes.

In Full Swing

2009-12-07T08:54:00.009-06:00

Well, I can now say that the holidays are in FULL SWING at our house! Friday night I spent a good 2 hours putting up and "fluffing up" the Christmas tree in preparation to decorate on Saturday with the boys.

Saturday morning as soon as I woke up and stumbled out of our bedroom I was met with a "Mommy, can do decorate the ornaments now?". I told the boys that Mommy needed a cup of coffee before we started in on the decorations so I bought myself a little bit of time. Once we started, we dove in with both feet.

First we did the tree. I have TWO BOXES of ornaments that I have accumulated over the years. A collection of ornaments from my childhood as well as ornaments from the past 17 years with Tim and the past 5 with the boys, we have a great selection to choose from. I put out a whole slew of ornaments for the boys and told them to go for it. They did a great job of spreading them out aroudn the tree and up as high as they could reach. Then it was my job to do the star and the top of the tree with the more delicate and breakable ornaments. When we were done, we stood back and Mason said "It's beautiful!".

After the tree was done, we focused on the rest of the house adding that special "Holiday touch" here and there. The favorite of the day was when I showed the boys the North Pole Village houses that I have kept boxed up since Jack was a baby. Collected over the years as gifts from my Mom and Tim, the North Pole has always been a special collection for me. Since I have so many houses and we have limited amount of space, I told the boys that they could choose 5 houses to set up and then we'd see how many elves we could put out.

So the house is fully decorated inside and out and as Tim likes to say "It looks like Santa puked on our house" {I beg to differ with him}.

Now I just need to tie up a few loose ends with presents and stocking stuffers and get things in the mail that need to go to family in other parts of the country and I'm good to go!

Bring it on! Ho Ho Ho!!!

A Recordable Treasure

2009-12-04T09:33:00.008-06:00

Now that my siblings have received their books for their children, I can blog about this!

I have to give props to Hallmark for their recordable The Night Before Christmas book that they have out in the stores this year. My Mom sent one to the boys last week and it is THE MOST AMAZING BOOK and a true GIFT that I will treasure forever!

The book is full of amazing illustrations and to hear my Mom's voice reading to her Grandsons from miles and miles away is awesome. The first time the boys opened the book and realized whose voice they were hearing they asked me "How did Moots do that?".

If you are looking for a special gift for your family or want to give a gift idea to your parents to give to your children this year, ask them to see if they can find one of these books! I've heard that they are FLYING off of the store shelves but you may be able to find one if you hurry!!!

And to my Mom, thank you again for a WONDERFUL gift for us! It's becoming a bedtime ritual to have Moots read The Night Before Christmas to us. Love you bunches, you're the best!

How Many Of Me?

2009-12-02T13:13:00.000-06:00

HowManyOfMe.com

There are

people with my name in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

Another Sign Of The Holiday Season

2009-11-30T11:26:00.004-06:00

With the approach of the Holiday Season, comes great anticipation of many of the "traditions" that I have created for our children over the past years. One of those is a visit to the Missouri Botanical Gardens and the Gardenland Express. This year, we went with Bear and Belle as well as Uncle Hank and Sophie. Celebrating 150 of history for the Missouri Botanical Gardens, this year's theme was on more of a local level as opposed to the wintry/Christmas themes of years past.

The boys still loved looking at the trains and all of the decorations and because the weather was SO BEAUTIFUL on Friday, we even had a chance to walk around outside and enjoy the grounds for a bit before heading home.

HE has arrived!!!!

2009-11-27T15:18:00.005-06:00

MY SAVIOR! MY SALVATION! MY EXCUSE TO HAVE MY CHILDREN BEHAVE FOR THE NEXT 28 DAYS! YIPEE!!!!

Oliver, our scout elf arrived this morning!

P.S. If you aren't familiar with a "Scout Elf" check them out HERE - they're every parents dream!!!

A Thanksgiving Wish

2009-11-25T23:59:00.001-06:00

From our family to yours.....we wish that God may bless you with peace, good health and abundance this Thanksgiving.

~ Tim, Libby, Jack & Mason

Dress-Up

2009-11-16T12:16:00.003-06:00

Friday night, Tim and I had the opportunity to go to a charity function for The Foundation for Children With Cancer. Held at The Tenderloin Room at The Chase Park Plaza Hotel, the night was themed as a Western Murder Mystery and as attendees, we were given "characters" to come as for the night.

A Traveler from the East and a Saloon girl were our assigned parts and I think we did a pretty good job dressing the part. Of course, Tim's costume took a little less effort than mine did and once I got over the "Oh my god, I have to dress up!!?!?" shock, I decided to embrace the idea and have fun with it. Plus....how often do we, as adults, get the chance to dress up and pretend play? Not that often so I decided to just go with the flow.

We had a wonderful night and the event was for a wonderful cause. We didn't win the Grand Prize (which was a Wii) but Tim was pretty close with his guess as to who had commited the murder.

Thanks again to our friends Lisa and Bob for inviting us and for a wonderful evening of "Dress-Up".

"Bunny With Spikes"

2009-11-12T13:51:00.003-06:00

Yes, that is the title of this wonderful piece of artwork by Mason. "Bunny With Spikes". You should have heard me laugh when I read it the night I picked him up from school and his teacher handed me his work for the day! Not sure where the idea of it came from so I'm going to give him an A+ for creativity.

Thanks Aunt D!

2009-11-09T09:18:00.003-06:00

How do you keep a 5 year old and a 3 1/2 year old busy for 15 minutes STRAIGHT? Send them a "decorate your own" Halloween card and let them go to work! They LOVED them and now proudly display their "artwork" on the book shelf in between their beds.

Thanks Aunt D! We love you bunches!

Inevitable

2009-11-06T16:42:00.005-06:00

I knew that it was bound to come up SOMETIME. The boys asking for me to paint their finger nails or toe nails. Anyone who knows me well knows that every other Sunday is MOMMY TIME at the Nail Salon. In the Spring and Summer, it's nails and toes and Fall and Winter, just nails - it's just one of the things I do for myself.

Well, Tuesday, Mason comes home and his fingers are all green. I asked him what happened to his fingers and he said "Johnny has fingernail polish! I want fingernail polish!" {eek!} So I told him that we'd paint his finger nails sometime. "Green?" he said. "Yes Green, Mason" was my response.

He didn't let up. Kept asking and asking so yesterday at lunch I ventured over to Walgreens that's not too far from my office and purchased GREEN nailpolish. Can't say I've ever had a bottle of green nail polish before. Red, pink, coral, brown, black but not green!

So..............as I figured, the inevitable came true!

And even Jack got in on the fun! His choice of color - my dark purple that looks black!

P.S. They have feet like their Father! Mine are much prettier!

The Crash After The High....

2009-11-02T08:42:00.012-06:00

Friday night the boys and I spent 2 hours carving our Jack O'Lanterns and the excitement continued builidng towards the big night on Saturday. As soon as Jack realized that there was work involved with carving and decided that the "goo" inside the pumpkin was too messy for him to touch, he quickly lost interest but Mason stuck with me for the duration. A happy face and a haunted house were the choice Jack O'Lanterns for the year. We were all very happy with how they turned out!

Saturday we awoke to SUN!!! The weather was BEAUTIFUL here! All of the stars aligned and the sun was shining leading up to a beautiful evening of Trick Or Treating. The boys {as well as Tim and I} were thrilled beyond belief that umbrellas weren't going to be a required part of the Halloween costumes that had been so carefully picked out. As always, I was able to catch the required "Photo with Mommy prior to leaving the house" and then they were gone.

Returning after a quick 45 minute jaunt up and down the street their buckets were FULL of candy. Hershey bars, Kit Kats, Reeses....all of MY favorites! They oohed and ahhed at their haul and snacked until they were CUT OFF to prevent an excess sugar high as we called it a night about 9:00pm and turned off the lights to ward off any late comers.

Another successful {and fun} Halloween under our belts. Now we ration the candy on a daily basis and hope that it's gone before the next influx that is Christmas time.

One Year Ago Today....

2009-10-31T00:01:00.000-05:00

A year ago today, a good friend lost her first born son to a congential heart defect. He was a precious little boy who carried a big message while he was here on Earth and still today shares it with those of us whose lives he touched. He is still deeply missed and will be forever loved by his extended family. Today, like it has for the past 364 days, my heart and prayers go to the Carlson family. Your pain is shared by your friends and family on this day. Jack will be forever in our hearts.

Who's Your Mummy?

2009-10-30T08:37:00.005-05:00

Can you tell who this is?

Want some help?

We had some fun last night at the KinderCare "Fall Festival"........

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-30T00:01:00.000-05:00

Gearing Up....

2009-10-26T09:11:00.006-05:00

By far, one of my favorite "holidays" is Halloween. Even before Tim and I had the boys or lived in a neighborhood, I'd carve a pumpkin or two for myself and just enjoy the day as it was. Now that I have children, I can relish in it that much more. I don't go all out on decorations and what not, it's just the "spirit" of the holiday and the building excitement of Trick Or Treating that I love.

Sunday, we headed out to Rombachs Pumpkin Patch for a birthday party AND to find our pumpkins that we will carve on Friday night. The boys had a tough decision to face picking out JUST THE RIGHT ONE for them but we think they did okay.

Now it will be a decision on what kind of face that each pumpkin gets? Will it be spooky? Happy? Scared? It's in debate right now......you'll have to come back and see what they choose later this week.

Until then........the excitement continues to build and the costumes hang safely in the closet waiting for that special night when the ghouls, goblins and SUPER HEROES come out!!!

Fall Is Here!

2009-10-24T15:33:00.001-05:00

Yep - full force it's here! The colors are AMAZING and we were in the thick of it all this afternoon at Grandma Marilyn & Grandpa Rick's house. I couldn't help but take a few pics of the boys. This is by far my favorite!!!

Happy Birthday, Jack!

2009-10-20T00:01:00.000-05:00

Happy 5th Birthday Jack Henry!

I can't believe that you are FIVE years old today! Where has the time gone? It seems like just yesterday that Daddy and I were at the hospital anxiously awaiting your arrival. We were scared to death to become parents, but once you were here, that all changed. You are such an amazing little boy! You delight us with your personality and everything that you have learned. You are a wonderful big brother and Mason looks up to you and wants to be JUST LIKE YOU! I can't wait to see what this next year brings for you! So many big changes lay ahead and will take you on SO MANY different adventures. I want only the best for you!!!

Happy Birthday Sweetpea!

Mommy & Daddy Love You more than you will ever know!
I hope you have a WONDERFUL day!
XOXOXO

Start Making Your List

2009-10-14T09:20:00.004-05:00

The Holiday's are right around the corner! Have you even started to contemplate what you want for your Holiday Cards or even to give as gifts?

Check out Paperly's Holiday Catalog (available online now) for a great selection of PhotoCards, gift tags, enclosure cards, wine tags, placemats and self-inking stamps or even our Everyday Catalog or Special Occasions Catalog for some great gift ideas for just about everyone in your life. Teachers, Coaches, Teens, Aunts, Uncles & even the Babysitter!!!

Holiday orders are being taken through the end of November. In order to ensure that you have your cards or gifts in time order early. Shipping times will increase as we get closer to the deadline.

To place an order contact me at libby_riley@paperly.com.

This is HUGE!

2009-10-13T16:00:00.005-05:00

There is no other word to describe the new sculpture that was just unveiled in Chesterfield, MO this weekend other than HUGE! Called "The Awakening" by J. Seward Johnson, the 70 foot long sculpture is a giant coming out of the ground and is rather daunting looking no matter what your vantage point is.

The boys and I went by yesterday to check it out and I took this picture with my cell phone. Next time we go back, I will take my regular camera and take some better pictures so you can see it's relative size. The arm, itself stands a mere 17" tall!!! HUGE!!!

Hit The Vendor Circut Today

2009-10-10T20:49:00.003-05:00

Today I took my Paperly bag of tricks out and hit the Vendor circut for the first time. About 20 different vendors from knock off purses, to Partylite, Tastefully Simple, Pampered Chef and some local crafters all under the same roof sharing our goodies.

If I had to pick, there were two vendors who I'd have to lable as my favorites! The first,PJ's by Pinkie, is the business of a friend of mine who was affected by the downsizing in corporate america this year. Instead of dwelling on what had happened to her, she took advantage of the situation and made lemonade out of her lemons. Her PJ's are so cute! The other vendor is called Initial Outfitters. For anyone who loves monogrammed and/or personalized jewelry - this is the stuff for you! I am so excited that I'm going to be sporting one of their beautiful monogrammed necklaces as a birthday present from Tim and the boys!!! I can't wait to order it and get it!!!

Here's what it looks like -

All in all it was a good day. I came away with a future booking for a party, a catalog party that is going on from now until 10/23, some other possible buyers and some new connections of my own.

Soccer Star In The Making?

2009-10-06T00:00:00.000-05:00

Jack has really started to show us that he is a soccer star in the making. He looks forward to his soccer practice/game every Saturday and has impressed not only his coach, but Tim and I as well, with his ability and how quickly he's caught on to the game in general.

This past weekend during his game, he even had TWO opportunities to score but unfortunately one ball missed the goal completely and the other hit the goal post {oof}! Talk about disappointing! But being the "Soccer Mom" that I have become, I was there standing on the sidelines cheering my heart out for him and he was beaming with pride.

Little brother on the other hand is happier on the sidelines cheering Jack on as well and is not quite as ready to participate.....maybe next year!

Take Me Out To The Ball Game!

2009-10-05T08:39:00.009-05:00

One of my favorite memories as a child was going the baseball game with my Dad. We would sit RIGHT BEHIND the Cardinals Dugout. The view was amazing and to be so close to the action was indescribable. It was something that I truly came to take for granted as I grew older.

Now, going to the baseball game is almost a "luxury" or a treat for me. This year (actually just a month ago), thanks to my best friend, Betsy, I was able to go to my FIRST game at the new Busch Stadium (yes it opened in 2006, I know!) and it was such a treat!

Well, this past Friday, Tim and I had the opportunity to take the boys to the game and we jumped at the chance immediately! Having just clinched the Pennant for the NLC, we knew that the air would be humming with team spirit and the place just filled with Cardinal Red. Boy were we right! I think Jack almost had an anxiety attach he was SO EXCITED when we got to the Stadium! He was shaking from head to toe and his eyes were as big as saucers when he saw this!

Neither of the boys could believe their eyes! They wanted to know where Albert and Skip Schumacher were and when were they batting. They wanted to see the score board and figure out how to keep track of the count (Tim has taught them to do that when we watch the game on TV). As we watched the pregame festivities and got settled we were happily joined by this awesome group -

We all had such a great time. The boys did amazingly well and lasted until the end of the 7th inning (we had to let them sing "Take Me Out To The Ball Game") and then we headed out in order to beat the traffic and also because the game had just gone into the trash after Wainwright had taken us into a 6-0 lead before Tony pulled him {bad idea in my opinion}.

All in all.....a great night and hopefully something that they boys will remember!

Feeling Neglected?

2009-09-29T09:11:00.004-05:00

I'm sorry that I've been such a bad blogger lately. Our lives were turned a bit upside down the last few weeks with my Grandmother's illness and her death. While we have closed that door and tried to return to some sense of normalcy in our lives, I just haven't had anything exciting to blog about. They boys are good, we are good and we are enjoying amazing Fall weather that has settled into St. Louis.

But.............I have a feeling that I will be blogging strong this weekend as Tim and I are taking the boys to their first St. Louis Cardinals Baseball Game!!!! Woo Hoo!!! They are SO EXCITED to see Albert and the rest of the Cardinals play ball at Busch Stadium.

So............stay tuned!

At Peace

2009-09-20T10:45:00.004-05:00

Sara Jane Avant Hatton
August 25, 1918 - September 20, 2009

Mimi - we love you and we'll miss you but we know that you are at peace
and with Gaga safe in Heaven.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Slowed To A Crawl

2009-09-18T08:41:00.004-05:00

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately but life at the Riley house has slowed to a crawl {which is actually nice}.

With the return of the school year and end of summer, our "busy activities" have somewhat calmed down. Our evenings are filled with relaxing and playing at home and right now our weekends are soccer, groceries and laundry {not a whole lot that's too exciting}. October looks to be somewhat of a busy month for us with TWO birthday's (Mine and Jack's), a birthday party for Jack and the hustle and bustle of Halloween! But....until then, check back to see what happens between now and then!

Monday I have an awesome surprise to share that I'm so excited about! Thanks to a fellow blogger and former St. Louisan, it's going to hopefully help me spread the word about my "new business" to the blogging world! Until then! Ciao!

A Soccer Success {Somewhat}

2009-09-14T11:05:00.012-05:00

Our first day of soccer was somewhat of a success. While it started off a bit rocky, it ended on quite a high note!

Both of the boys can be {somewhat} shy in new environments/situations so it didn't come as a surprise on Saturday when we arrived at the soccer fields to have Mason clam up and not want to participate. Tim and I tried everything we could think of to get him to engage with the other children and the coach and this is what we got....

No matter what we tried, he WOULD NOT partcipate! We finally gave up and told him that he'd see how much fun Jack was going to have playing!

Jack, on the other had had a MUCH better time! My little wallflower blossomed as soon as it was time to head over to his team & coach. I was so proud of him. He jumped in with both feet and had a blast. He looked like a natural out on the field!

So 50% a success, 50% a flop - but Mason has assured us that he's going to play this weekend! We shall see!And Jack.....well he just can't wait to get back out and "help his team" he says!

A Bulldog And A Kicker

2009-09-05T10:24:00.002-05:00

Pretty cool names huh?

Well next Saturday, Mason becomes a Bulldog {quite fitting I think} and Jack becomes a kicker {if you knew him you'd know that that name fits him to a tee as well} as the boys start their first organized sports activity with the Chesterfield YMCA's fall soccer league.

I'm so excited for them both and so are they!!! Each Saturday, they will have 30 minutes of practice time followed by a 20 minute scrimage vs. a "rival" team in their same age bracket! It should be quite a sight to see 18-20 little people running down the soccer field in a CLUMP to get the ball!!! I can't wait! I can officially call myself a Soccer Mom {yikes!}

Both boys practice/play at the EXACT same time so that's going to make it a challenge for Tim and I. But we're hoping that they are on some what adjacent fields so we can float back and forth to watch them both.

Stay tuned.....you know me! There will be PLENTY of pictures posted each week after their practices/games!!!

Introducing.....

2009-09-01T13:58:00.006-05:00

PAPERLY!

Today is September 1, 2009, I'm officially kicking off my new business and it's also the day that Paperly released it's new Everyday Collection which can be viewed online at www.paperly.com! The catalog is full of GREAT new products! Personalized stationery, note cards, address labels, gift stickers, calling cards, self inking stamps, luggage tags and more!

For a special food lover, teacher, hostess, housewarming or birthday present, there's the Special Occasions Collection! All with that personal touch!

Paperly will also be releasing it's Holiday Catalog soon that will be filled with wonderful photo cards - I can't wait for you to see it! Stay tuned for more information.

The September promotion? Through the month of September, earn free gift stickers and address labels – a $23.95 savings! Here's a little bit about the promotion HERE

So why wait! Start your shopping NOW! Email me to place your order, to schedule an appointment to see my samples (only if you're local of course!) or you can host a Paperly Open House and earn free and discounted products by inviting your friend to share the fun of a Paperly Party in your home or through a virtual party - it's up to you!

Libby
libby_riley@paperly.com

Because Two People Fell In Love

2009-08-31T08:47:00.002-05:00

7 years ago, I married my best friend!

Happy Anniversary, Tim!

I Love You Forever!

Libby

Do You Have One?

2009-08-27T00:01:00.000-05:00

What little boy want to be a Superhero at some point in their life? Thanks to superflykidz my boys proudly sport their own superhero capes and masks! Do you have a Superhero in your life? I can say that I have TWO!

The other night, they decided that it was time to make their transformation from Jack & Mason to "Super Jack" and "Uper Mason" and Tim and I just loved to watching them. They were running around the house, flexing their {little} muscles, growling to make themselves look tough, saving their stuffed animals from peril with their ability to leap small piles of legos in a single bound! Ready to save the world...............make it a better place! They got themselves totally riled up right before bedtime, but how could I stop them........ they'll always be MY superheroes!

You better believe that these pictures will resurface on the night of their rehearsal dinners! How could they NOT!?!?

Wordless Wednesday

2009-08-26T00:01:00.000-05:00

Three out of her seven!

17 Years Ago Today......

2009-08-25T00:01:00.002-05:00

17 years ago today I was getting ready for my first date with Tim. We went to see Eric Clapton in concert at what was then Riverport Amphitheater. It was a HOT August evening, and I remember that the air conditioner at my Mom's house had gone out and I was trying to get ready for a "date" in the sweltering heat. Not what I wanted as it was my first "date" in a LONG LONG TIME and I was nervous as all get out!

The night was wonderful! We sat on the lawn and enjoyed the tunes of a music legend who I was not all that familiar with but still loved his work. At the end of the night, we were walking back to the car in a sea of automobiles in the parking lot only to realize that Tim had forgotten where he had parked! {Ooof!} To make matters worse, he drove a Grey Pontiac Grand AM (a VERY COMMON car) so it made it even harder to pick out! We walked around and around the parking lot for AN HOUR! Long enough that we saw the same person (yes, Amy L. that was YOU!) twice in that hour as they drove out with the masses of people.

Eventually we found the car! And, the wonderful man had packed a whole cooler full of snacks, fruit and beer! I was THOROUGHLY impressed to say the least and it made his little mis-hap a forgotten issue.

Well......that night was the start of something wonderful! Was it love at first sight? Nope! It took me a bit to get past the balding, 30 year old man with the mustache on his face (yes, I was pretty superficial at the age of 23) but once I saw past what I PERCEIVED as stopping blocks, I realized what an amazing person Tim was.

Tim is Tim. He's not at all smoke and mirrors. What you see is what you get! He's a genuine as they come. He is my best friend, my confidant, my soul-mate and my rock! He has been with me through good times and bad. We have weathered many of storms to gether and come out on the other side of them better and stronger than we were before. And best of all, I can call him my husband and the father of my children.

17 years ago, I had my first date with my best friend! A night that I will NEVER forget as long as I live!

Get To Know ME A Little Better!

2009-08-22T00:01:00.001-05:00

1. What is your occupation right now? Branch Manager for Manpower Inc. I've been in the Staffing Industry since 1994.
2. What color are your socks right now? I'm not wearing socks and rarely do in the Summer
3. What are you listening to right now? My Ipod - it's a mix of music
4. What was the last thing that you ate? Peanut Butter and chocolate snack bar
5. Can you drive a stick shift? Nope, Tim tried to teach me but gave up
6. Last person you talked to on the phone? An Associate of ours
7. One thing you are wearing right now? Black scoop neck top
8. How old are you today? 40
9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? Baseball (Go Cards!)
10. What is your favorite drink? Iced tea w/ Lemon or wine spritzers
11. Have you ever dyed your hair? I have to do something to hide the gray!
12. Favorite food? Mexican
13. What is the last movie you watched? Taken
14. Favorite day of the year? Tie between Christmas and Halloween
15. How do you vent anger? Yell
16. What was your favorite toy as a child? Hmmmm....I don't remember specifically
17. What is your favorite season? Fall
18. Cherries or Blueberries? Really neither - I like Raspberries though
19. Living arrangements? Home with Tim, Jack, Mason & a fish
20. When was the last time you cried? Can't remember - probably after my surgery in Feburary and I was miserable
21. What is on the floor of your closet? Laundry basket and my shoes
22. What did you do last night? Fixed dinner, sat and filled out the boys registration for the school year and relaxed while Tim worked in the old kitchen and the boys played WELL on the computer together for over an hour!
23. What are you most afraid of? Losing one of my children or my husband
24. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers? Plain with Cheese
25. Favorite dog breed? Lab or Dauchaund
26. Favorite day of the week? Saturday
27. How many states have you lived in? 2
28. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds!
29. What is your favorite flower? Roses or Gardenias
30. What is you favorite ice cream flavor? Mint Chocolate Chip

Vacation Play By Play

2009-08-20T00:01:00.002-05:00

We rolled out of our driveway at 1:07 AM on Saturday 8/8 and headed north for the wonderfully quaint little town of Ludington Michigan. Our chauffeur, aka Tim, took great care of us as Jack, Mason and I snoozed away for about 6 hours out of the 9 hour drive.

We arrived under the cover of a cloudy, rainy sky. Unloaded the car and watched the boys as their excitement built. "We want to go to the beach, Mommy!" The waves were big, the skies were grey, but that didn't stop them. They headed down with their Moots (my Mom) to check it out. Fully clothed, they got braver and braver with the waves and clothes got wetter and wetter. Little did my Mom know that the waves would soon take her and she ended up neck deep in the water. Made for a great laugh for us all - and didn't phase Jack in the least.

The weather wavered from clouds and passing rain showers to sun for the most of Sunday and Monday and finally gave way to beautiful sunshine and blue skies on Monday afternoon to give us beautiful weather for the remainder of our trip.

We had a few firsts on this trip; both the boys learned how to fish and both caught their FIRST FISH in the lagoon. Watching them brought back so many memories of my childhood and summer days spent sitting on the edge of the very same lagoon for HOUR AFTER HOUR fishing with my friends Curt and Patrick. I loved seeing my boys doing the exact same thing. Jack caught on very quickly and was soon casting out his own bait and reeling it in like a pro. The only problem was that the fish in the lagoon were like piranhas and as soon as a turkey dog, marshmallow bit or earthworm would enter the water via your hook - they attacked, and 80% of the time outsmarted us!

A few trips were taken to the harbor/marina playground. A beautiful green space created by the City of Ludington, it has a wonderful playscape for the children and is also surrounded by bronze sculptures depicting Ludington's history and is flanked on the sides by the boats of the locals and vacationers who live for their time on the water.

LOTS of time was spent on the beach and in the water. The boys are not "water rats" like most children their age, but as time went on, they became more and more comfortable. It was great to watch them have fun - and hours in the lake meant nice long naps in the afternoons!

One of our adventures that we took was a visit to the Amber Elk Ranch, something that we enjoyed so much last year we had to do it again this year. The boys loved seeing the elk up close and feeding them as well. This year, our visit was a month later than last year, and unfortunately, the male elk were getting ready to shed their velvet from their antlers and head into the mating season. As I explained to the boys "The elk were crabby and we couldn't pet them like last year" but we were able to feed the females and see the calves that were born earlier this spring.

Other things that we did were walk out to the Ludington Lighthouse to watch the Car ferry, the Badger, arrive from it's trip across the Lake from Mantiwoc, WI and our oh so ever popular trip to House Of Flavors Ice Cream Shop for an ice cream cone.

Wow! We had a busy week and a wonderful vacation! It was relaxing but full of all sorts of other stuff that would bore you to death if I kept going, so I'm going to stop here; other than sharing with you a few more "Heaven on Earth" - until next year!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-08-19T00:01:00.001-05:00

Michigan Sneek Peek

2009-08-17T11:12:00.005-05:00

Okay, so I took over 400 pictures (that's minus the ones I deleted after each day) so it's going to take me a bit to weed through them and post a run down of our vacation. But in the mean time, here's a sneek peek of our week.....

Our "standard pose" - had to do it!

Some nice lady took our picture - the only family picture we took

And Mommy's infront of the camera for a change too! (Thanks Honey!)

Lunch at the Coffee Shop - waiting patiently for our food

Jack Henry's FIRST FISH! The fish LOVED our Turkey Dogs!

Jack at the Coffee Shop for lunch

Mason enjoying the beach

Mason's FIRST FISH!

Enjoying a stroll on the beach. Don't I look "regal"? {Ha Ha Ha}

They had so much fun kicking the waves!

Beautiful sunsets are not unusual in Ludington, MI!

Reality

2009-08-16T21:12:00.004-05:00

The problem with vacation is the coming home.....it's the coming back to reality that ~~sucks~~ is so hard.

Up in Michigan where we were, it feels like you are away from everything, it is it's own little cosmos. I lose track of the world when I'm up there. I don't watch the news, I don't read the newspaper - sometimes I don't even remember what day of the week it is. And time......who cares about what time it is (other than the fact that we now have children and have to kind of pay attention to that to keep SOME SORT of semblance of their schedule). The only thing that really helps me keep track of the time is the coming and going of the carferry across the lake and the big giant clock that has sat in the window of the cottage called Blarney Castle as long as I can remember.

It's the ultimate when it comes to vacation - not a care in the world - other than to decide what time to head to the beach and when to call it a day. Now it's back to the real world - back to life and back to reality. A true slap in the face when you've been soaking up this for the past week! Oh well....at least I have it to look forward to next Summer!

Here We Come!

2009-08-07T00:01:00.000-05:00

I'm so ready for a week of nothing but relaxing and enjoying watching the boys play on the beach and wiggling my toes in the sand! See ya after vacation!

My Outside World

2009-08-06T00:01:00.001-05:00

Some shots of my "outside world" (aka our backyard) - I have really been enjoying sitting outside enjoying the amazing weather that we've been having this summer. Most of the time by August, everything is BROWN and DRY - not this year!

{Kind Of} Wordless Wednesday

2009-08-05T00:01:00.001-05:00

Something he's dreamed of doing with the boys - so fun to watch them!

Backyard Baseball

2009-08-04T00:01:00.000-05:00

Evenings and weekends, our driveway becomes a baseball field for the boys. Jack draws the bases with sidewalk chalk and Daddy is their pitcher. Mommy sits on the sidelines and plays "coach". Mason's really starting to show his natural ability and Jack's really developing well. An organized team of some sort will definately be in order this fall for sure.

He's watched enough MLB that he says "This is how the baseball players stand when they're on base, Mom!"

He may be Yadi's replacement someday!

Having fun - what more can a two little boys want?

More From The Gardens

2009-08-03T22:00:00.000-05:00

Just a few of my "pick" pictures from The Gardens on Saturday. By far, my favorites are the glass pieces done by Dale Chihuly that were on exhibit a few years ago and are now permanent fixtures for visitors to enjoy.

Botanical Gardens

2009-08-03T08:45:00.007-05:00

Saturday, the boys and I headed to The Missouri Botanical Gardens to check out the Children's Garden there. I had heard great things about it and being the weekend, St. Louis County residents get in for FREE so we were all over it!

Nesteled among the Climatron and the beautiful gardens, the Children's Garden is literally a giant playground with slides, climbers, a tree house and hands on activities that the kids can enjoy and have fun. It was a big hit and something we'll definately head back to again sometime soon.

The weather was fair with threatening skies but that didn't stop us in the least! We were able to enjoy ourselves for awhile and as we headed back to the Visitors Center, it started to sprinkle lightly. As we finished our lunch at the Sassafras Cafe we decided that we'd try to head back out to see the Coy at the Japanese Gardens, it started to rain again and we decided to head home and call it a day.

Climbing up to the tree house - VERY STEEP STEPS!

Lovin' the tree slide

Riding the "Green Screen Bike" - camera in front of the bike projected a picture on a screen in front of them and behind them as well. It was cool!

Climbing up the rope climber

Building w/ logs

Big slide

"Is it taller than me, Mom?"

My beautiful boys!

im - ag - i - na - tion

2009-07-31T00:01:00.001-05:00

- noun [i-maj-uh-ney-shuh n]

1.the faculty of imagining, or of forming mental images or concepts of what is not actually present to the senses.

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

I love the imagination that my boys have. When they are getting along, they can entertain themselves for stretches at a time pretending to animals, pretending they are building a fort or just bring their toys to life. Jack has gotten to the age that he now has imaginary friends. They do not come to visit or talk to him but HE talks very frankly about them and very descriptively.

Tuesday night, I sat with him while he was drawing, and asked him about his friends to learn more about them and the world that he has created for them in his imagination.

The first one that he told me about awhile ago, is named Jessie. She lives in space and is 23 years old (where he got that age, I have NO CLUE!). She is blue, green and red and has RAINBOW colored hair. Then there is Matt. Matt also lives in space. His age, I am not sure of yet, but like Jessie, he has rainbow colored hair that is spiky. The last of his friends is Ferry and she's the "littelest" of his friends and like the other two, lives in space and has rainbow hair.

They drive cars in his pictures and play together. They are his friends and he's very fond of them. They don't get into trouble that often because they are good listeners and use their manners.

I am going ask Jack to draw a picture of Jessie, Matt, and Ferry for me so that I can "see" what they look like. I'm sure that he'll come up with an amazing picture for me when he does.

Strike n' Spare

2009-07-30T00:01:00.000-05:00

Another trip to the bowling alley this past weekend. We have July and August left to get in our FREE games so we took advantage of it again. The boys are getting really good and catching on. Jack got a SPARE! Mommy even bowled this time!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-07-29T00:01:00.000-05:00

High Voltage Exploration

In, Up, Fixed, Out

2009-07-28T00:01:00.000-05:00

"No Tires! Just Gas!" a very familiar phrase that is known in our house due to the Disney Pixar movie CARS! Saturday the boys and I spent a couple of hours at the Magic House in Kirkwood, MO. A hands on, use your imagination, children's museum, the Magic House gives children the opportunity to play and explore in a number of different hands-on areas.

One of our favorites was the auto mechanic shop. Fully equipped with tools and realistic sound, children could change a tire, work on the underside of the car, even change the air filter and antifreeze in the engine. Jack and Mason were in HEAVEN! What little boy wouldn't be? And the best part.....NO DIRT!!!

Friendly Reminder

2009-07-26T19:58:00.004-05:00

One thing that I am not fond of is cleaning toilets (or bathrooms for that matter) so the fact that I live in a house with THREE males makes that task that much less appealing. And then add two YOUNG boys who don't have the best of aim to the mix (well.....Tim doesn't always have the best aim either but we have our own bathroom) and I'm just lovin' their bathroom {I say that in a VERY sarcastic voice}.

Thanks to decalmonograms on etsy, I found this cute "friendly reminder" that I put up in the boys bathroom today. What do you think? It may help, it may not!

Wipe (for them.....the rim), Flush and Wash!

Colorful

2009-07-24T16:02:00.003-05:00

I love the bright colors that my camera captures! I wish that I was a better photographer, but every once in a while I take a picture that I just look at and say "Now that's a good one!" to myself.

Took this one at the park the other night. Tim had a softball game, so the boys and I tagged along for some play-time - the weather was beautiful....we couldn't stay home. After a picnic dinner from subway, we headed to the playground to play and then went to watch Daddy swing the bat for a bit.

Don't you just love the happy smile on Mason's face? That and his "faux-hawk" that he loves to sport now and then?

My boys make my life colorful!

Little Kitchen Helper

2009-07-24T00:01:00.000-05:00

Mason LOVES to help in the kitchen. There isn't a night that goes by that he's not helping me cook dinner or just watching. He loves our new sink and the faucet. Playing in the water and pretending to wash the dishes is something that he's doing more and more. Pretty soon he's going to take over Tim's nightly job of cleaning up after dinner.

Brotherly Love

2009-07-23T00:01:00.000-05:00

They're brothers.......they do get along rather well at times! But it's these kinds of moments that I like to remember when they're fighting like a pair of cats and making Tim and I pull our hair out!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-07-22T00:01:00.000-05:00

Can You Help?

2009-07-21T15:52:00.006-05:00

On August 29, 2009, there is an event that is being held for a very special little boy. I blogged about him HERE. While I won't be able to travel to Michigan to participate in the event, I'm doing what I can from afar to help my friends in any way possible.

All donations that are made will go directly to the University of Michigan Congenital Heart Center. They will be earmarked in Jack's name for research. If you are interested in making a donation, all checks should be made payable to Michigan Congenital Heart Center and have 'Jack Carlson/research' written in the memo line. You can feel free to mail them to me (for those of you that have my address)and I will forward them on or can be sent directly to Mort Hirshman -- 311 Gralake -- Ann Arbor MI 48103.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me and I will be happy to get an answer for you. Check out the website for the golf event at www.golf4jack.com

Jack was a truly special little boy. Although his time on Earth was short, he made a HUGE impact on a number of people and continues to touch lives even from Heaven.

Flat Family

2009-07-21T00:01:00.001-05:00

We're a rather "Flat Family" but a beautiful family at that!

Nothing Fancy

2009-07-20T08:58:00.002-05:00

We had a pretty mild mannered weekend, which was nice. Nothing fancy, nothing too crazy. Friends over for pizza Friday night. Birthday party on Saturday and hit one of our favorite parks yesterday afternoon for some play time. And really just enjoying the AMAZING weather that we're having here in St. Louis right now.

Here's a few snapshots from our weekend (more to come later this week)! Enjoy!

"I Have 20 Teeth!"

2009-07-16T00:01:00.000-05:00

Tuesday was Mason's first trip to the Dentist office. We have waited until both of the boys turned three before we took them for their first visit. Since my 6 month check-up was scheduled on Tuesday, we decided that it'd be a great time to take Mason too. He could sit and watch me and then take a turn. So that's exactly what we did.

We arrived at the office of Dr. Kevin Postol and were, as always, warmly greeted by Robin and Jessica - two of Dr. Postol's staff. Mason and I took a few minutes to admire the beautiful saltwater fish in the HUGE tank that Dr. Postol has and then we headed back to the room for my cleaning.

Mason literally sat IN MY LAP in the chair while Jessica cleaned my teeth. He was quiet and ~~a little~~ VERY apprehensive about what was going on. We tried to divert his attention with some cute videos on the computer screen in the exam room about the Dentist and your first visit to the Dentist, which worked for a bit, but he was still as quiet and shy as I've ever seen him.

When Jessica was finished, Mason helped pick out my tooth brush and tooth paste and then we told him it was his turn to sit in the chair. The look I got was one of complete dread and like he was saying "Please Mom! Please don't make me do this!" with his eyes.

After lots of talking about the different things in a Dentist office and what Jessica was going to do, she was able to get Mason to allow her to count his teeth! Which he very willingly opened his mouth for. After he was done, he proudly said "I have 20 teeth, Mom!". He chose bubble gum toothpaste and allowed Jessica to show him what the toothbrush felt like on his finger but when it came time for the actual CLEANING of his teeth - he said "Nope!" and was done.

All in all, not a bad visit for his first time. We'll try again in 6 months and see if he can get further than this. It took Jack a year and a half before he was comfortable at Dr. Postols office and allowed them to clean his teeth. Before that he'd clamp his jaw shut and wouldn't budge for anything.

Thanks Dr. Postol, Robin, & Jessica for a great FIRST visit! We'll see you again in 6 months!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-07-15T00:01:00.001-05:00