Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine!

If you don't live near the ocean, perhaps you're only introduction to these fellas


is from THIS movie...

Trust me when I tell you that they're the Rats of the AIR! These guys will fight over & EAT ANYTHING THROWN OUT!
Thus, the term 'air rats'.

Every morning I throw leftover breakfast (i.e.: toast, cereal, apple peels, banana pieces etc...)
to the squirrel's & birds etc. and EVERY MORNING WITHOUT FAIL,

these guys show up ready for action...


You can hear them coming from a mile away & man do they mean BUSINESS!



But I love all God's creatures, so there's no discrimination here at:

'BOSTON BREAKFAST BUFFET'

Squirrels much prefer CINNAMON COOKIES over anything else anyways.
;)
hehehehehe

Just in case you were wondering what 'beautiful' looks like...

...goodnight.

P.S.

Next time I go rantin' & ravin' atop my proverbial SOAP BOX about something, I should perhaps, JUST IN CASE, have a pair of THESE shoes handy in the event of an "open mouth, insert SHOE' moment... because honestly? My red fuzzy slippers (in classic RED) from Land's End just didn't do it for me! HAPPY FEET sure, but not so easy on my digestive system!

Diary of a sick toddler...

...captains log: day one, bronchitis:

6:30am woke up in Momma's bed happy but still very sick & with a high fever
7:00am Cereal & milk + vitamins for breakfast
7:15am penicillin & Tylenol
7:30am Maisy TiVo time on couch with Bear
8:30am warm bath complete with hair washing & deep conditioning
9:00am dressed back into toasty pj's & back on couch with Bear
10:20am fell asleep on floor in front of pink toasty chair, gently laid into Pack-N-Play to finish out remainder of nap
11:30am woke up hungry & thirsty, signing 'food' & 'drink', gave her peanut butter pretzel sandwiches & water sippy with ice & more penicillin & Tylenol.
(both winners in this house even when very sick & refusing all other foods...)
12:00pm more Maisy time, Bear sensing a routine forming...
1:00pm fast asleep again on floor, this time Momma leaves well enough alone & covers both Ruby & Bear over with a toasty blanket.
3:00pm awake again, asking for more food & drink, downstairs to Nannas house to see what we might find
3:105pm eating cool ranch doritos at Nannas since refusing everything else she had to offer.
(no pbpretzels at Nannas...)
4:00pm back upstairs to do a puzzle or two but then signing for more water & maisy
4:10pm couch this time with fresh water sippy & Bear, who is not shocked to be watching the same episode of Maisy that he saw just moments ago it seems...
5:30pm fast asleep on couch to the point where eventually I hear serious snoring
6:00pm laid them both gently into the crib, sound asleep for what appears to be the night...
11:00pm (momma just finished up watching The Shawshank Redemption) went into Ruby's room one last time to check on her before going to bed herself.
Enters room only to find Ruby sitting straight up with Bear in her arms & smiling saying AND signing: "Hi Momma, eat? Food? Drink? Waffles?" etc...

THE GIRL WANTS WAFFLES, THE GIRL GETS WAFFLES!
Could've cared less if it was 3:45am, my girl who basically refused food nearly all day, wants waffles then damnit SHE GETS WAFFLES!

12:00am 4 mini waffles, 1/2 banana, 4 oz milk, a handfull of cheerios & one final dose of penicillin & Tylenol later and Ruby & Bear are both out cold in the toasty comfort of Momma's bed.
So much for no 'co-sleeping' huh?
I guess when I was doing all my 'nanny preaching' bullshit I forgot to take into consideration the possibility of a sick child. Against my rules or not, I'll be damned if I'm not going to keep my daughter's labored breathing so close that I can feel it tickle the back of my own throat!
When babies are sick, co-sleeping is A'OK in my book!
Now, you'll excuse me as I go enjoy my midnight snack of fillet of 'sole'.
*wink*

Same, but different...

... recently my good friend Sherrie asked me
when I was going to post a picture of my new hair cut.
Well, aside from cutting shorter layers into it...
(those shorter pieces near my cheek, they weren't there before...)
...it's really not all that different.
Still pretty long so honestly, unless you see me in person, or NOT wearing a black sweater' you can't see the difference, really?
So, it's the same, but different.
Just easier on me since the weight of it is not as much as it once was... my hair tends to be very thick & heavy so the more of it I have, the worse my headaches would be.

So, Sherrie, this pic's for you babe, hope it curbs your curiosity a little.

Bronchitis...

...high fever, runny nose, watery eyes, aches & pains etc.
Just look at my poor girl, you can tell she's miserable.
=*(
Last night she slept with me in my bed because I didn't want her away from me for even so much as a second! All night she curled up next to me with Bear clutched in her hands as I lay next to her listening to her labored breathing & tried not to cry.
I love her so much & when she's sick, it's hard when you know you've done everything you can, and still she's unhappy.
Why can't they invent a 'Momma Magic Wand' to make shit like this disappear?
And while they're at it, make one that covers MS & Cancer, could ya?

Two opinionated...

... perhaps, sometimes, most always during 'GETTING DRESSED' time!

I am a jeans & T-shirt/sweater type Momma. Comfort first, cuteness later.
My daughter, originally was starting out on this same path by default but something happened once 'TWO' hit, the girl found her voice & a bunch of fabulous words including but not limited to,
"NO!"

When dressing my little doodle bug now, don't even THINK about suggesting JEANS for 'pants' because you'll get the ever popular 'NO!" followed by the 'Italian evil eye' (which she nails every time frighteningly enough) and then if after suggesting the jeans, you don't have a 'fun pants' backup option, you'll get the 'swiper' move which is to throw her arm out at you & say in a very deep, growly type 'monster' voice "GO'WAY"!
Fun huh?

So, we are now at the FUN PANTS phase of parenting a toddler.
A short cute Asian who has one very big mind of her own & on that mind?
FUN PANTS!
What are fun pants you ask?


Anything cotton & stretchy & soft with a BRIGHT COLOR OR PATTERN TO THEM!
Those, my friends, are currently the bain of my existence...
...in adult world we call those 'period' pants or 'fat' pants... or perhaps for this upcoming week only, 'thanksgiving' pants.
But 'FUN PANTS'?
I dunno about that...

In my 20's when I was going bar hoppin' every weekend with the girls to toss back half a dozen red deaths or more, I'd wear snug fitting jeans & would only deem them 'fun' if I ended up with a date by the end of the night.
(use your imagination... my mother reads the blog.)

Thus, now, jeans are just jeans (mid 30's & no more drinking has resorted to my 'fun night's being the ones I spend giggling with Ruby to the point where my sides hurt. =)
So honestly, any outfit I'm wearing becomes fun.

But my child?
WILL! HAVE! NO! PART! IN! JEANS! PERIOD!

So sad too, since I bought the most adorable pairs in China in several different sizes to last me the first few years home.
*what did you expect, china shit was CHEAP!*

So, perhaps a jean online' yard sale'? LOL
I dunno, all I know is that if my kid is this opinionated now at TWO, I'm so in trouble come teenage years.

As long as she doesn't start asking for THESE pants, I'll manage...



Man, if I had a tub... I'D HAVE CALGON TAKE MY ASS AWAY!
(if only for an hour...)
*sigh*

Even an old nanny can learn new tricks...

...seriously, in over 16 years you'd have thought I've seen everything & anything 'kid', but not so much!
During a recent visit from our dear friends Karen & Gwen, we were introduced to these WONDERFUL CRAYONS!



I have many Melissa & Doug items in my home for Ruby Cate but had never EVER seen these fantastic OUT OF THIS WORLD' must be made of plastic cuz they NEVER BREAK, PHENOMENAL CRAYONS! Trust me when I tell you that they are a MUST HAVE! Not only are they solid (kid proof) but they're TRIANGULAR in shape, thus NEVER ROLLING ANYWHERE OR FALLING PERIOD!
And let's face it, some of us have kids that enjoy purposefully CHUCKING THINGS just to see how hard & how far they can make them go, BRING IT ON TODDLERS cuz these little colorful chunks of JOY ARE HERE TO STAY! I'm telling you, I even think I stepped on them a few times & STILL NOT ONE BROKEN ONE!
(no fat jokes)
BUT SERIOUSLY, if you haven't already,
invest in these wonderful crayons for your little one, you'll be glad you did!

Storytime...

A black & white version of the truth...

The kindness of a stranger...

(The following is a true story relayed to me from a very dear friend...)



I was standing in line at the K-Mart to purchase some play-doh for my child,
a mere 7 dollars, nothing big.
Two people in front of me, a mother & a daughter, also in line, waiting to purchase a Dora shirt, clearly for the little girl. The mother thinking that the shirt was on sale.
It was not.
They reach the cashier, the shirt gets rung up & the mother realizes she does not have enough cash with her. She says to the cashier "This is so embarrassing, I'm sorry but I don't have enough... "
She then says to her daughter, "I'm sorry sweetie, but mommy doesn't have enough for your shirt, we're going to have to leave it here & go home."

I noticed the tears start to well up in the little girls eyes as she reluctantly took her mother's hand & with her head hanging slightly lower than before, quietly left the store for home.

I threw my plastic at the cashier & said in a hurry "RING THAT SHIRT UP PLEASE! Keep my card, I'll BE RIGHT BACK!"
Leaving the play-doh on the counter & my credit card in the hands of a perfect stranger, I hurried outside with the shirt in hand to catch up to that mother & daughter.
I looked feverishly for them afraid that I was too late...

...and there they were, getting into their car.

I ran up to them, smiled at the mother & handed her the shirt & said, simply:

"Merry Christmas."

The mother's eyes filled with tears & the daughters face lit up brighter than any Christmas tree I've ever seen.

The mother proceeded to say to her daughter, "Sweetie give the nice lady a hug & say thank
you..."
To which I replied, "oh it's ok, I'm not feeling all that well & I wouldn't want to get her sick, just the smile on her face is thanks enough for me."

And, feeling better than I have in a very long time, I went back into K-Mart to pay for my play-doh.

I can only hope that if I were that mother, that a stranger would do the same for my child.
Wouldn't the world be a much better place if they did?

Merry Christmas everyone!

One year ago, right now...

...my "forever" began.

I simply can't believe...

... that one year ago tonight, was my last night home
before leaving for that long 30+ hour trip to China.

Pretty surreal if you ask me.

Amazing how fast a year can fly by when you're not crossing days off a calander.

Next anniversary is monday, our one year 'gotcha' moment...


...I could NOT be HAPPIER!

XoXoXoXo

I love you Ruby!

<3
Momma

Today's 'SMILE' brought to you by...

...children's motrin cold

You'd never in a million years guess that my child woke up this morning with a fever of 102
due to currently cutting her 2yr molars, would ya?
;)

Like teething never even happened...

BOOOOOOYA!

Bear Love...

Christmas Cards...

...ordered & DONE!

*grin*

Thanks to Auntie Karen for providing us with the CUTEST DRESS to have on in the photos!
(Ruby LOVES wearing it & I suspect won't be taking it off even at bedtime. LOL)

(And don't ask which one I picked for the cards, I'm not tellin!
Cuz then it won't be a surprise!)

Sometimes...

...you've just gotta break the rules.

(Ruby & I spent the entire night last night curled up in each others arms as she was having a rough 'night terror' night & I was having a rather rough MS night. We both just kinda needed each other & this morning at 7am, this was the beautiful sight I woke up to... isn't she precious? I love you Ruby, thank you baby for helping Momma have a wonderful night's sleep!)

Tuesday's w/Uncle Steve... * FINAL UPDATE *

... ok so recently I was asked by a good friend of mine if I would start posting my Tuesday night recipes back to the blog again for all to enjoy... and the answer is YES!

Ok so here's what's on tap for tomorrow night's dinner with my cousin, Ruby's Uncle Steve...

Italian Meatball & Portabello Mushroom Soup:

Ingredients: 2T butter
2T extra virgin olive oil
1 Large red bell pepper chopped
1 clove freshly minced garlic
1 large spanish onion chopped
3 pkg's large sliced portabello mushrooms, cut into chunks
( I like ALOT of mushrooms!)
16 frozen cooked italian style meatballs (usually in the frozen food section)
4 cups beef stock
2t italian seasoning
salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup (or more like 3-4 ITALIAN HANDFULLS) dried egg noodles
Gravy Master (few shakes around pot) for added flavor & darker color (optional)

Directions: In large soup pot, go twice around with extra virgin olive oil & add butter.
Cook until slight sizzle.
Add garlic, onions, peppers, mushrooms & saute' for several minutes.
Add meatballs, beef stock & italian seasoning & cook till comes to a boil.
(10 - 12 minutes)
add noodles & reduce heat & cook for 5 minutes till pasta is tender. Serve with freshly grated parm cheese (IMPORTED STUFF NOT THE CRAPPY SHAKER SHIT!) on top & some hot from the oven garlic bread & ENJOY!

Yes, that's what we're having tomorrow night for dinner & yes I'll take pictures of it once it's done. =)

Oh, and if you do the prep work for the chopping & dicing of the veggies the night before, it makes this meal A LOT EASIER to throw together last minute.

Ciao!

UPDATED PHOTOS:

Veggies sauteing in pot...

Beef stock added...


Time to add the meatballs...

Meatballs in pot...


Add italian seasoning, salt & freshly ground pepper...

Cover & simmer on medium to low heat until reaches a boil...

(still simmering here so no more pics as of yet but once boil has been achieved, I'll add my noodles & cook for an additional 10 minutes & then add the final pics then...)

so far, SO GOOD!
*grin*

*UPDATED AGAIN*


Ok, once boil has been achieved, it's time to add the egg noodles...


I honestly don't measure, this was about 4 handfulls of extra wide noodles...

Stir them in well, cover & let cook for an additional 10 minutes...

(mmm my house smells SO GOOD it's almost time to MANGIA!)

Oh yeah, you know you're JEALOUS...
*evilgrin*

Little miss Ruby Tuesday LOVES her dinner!
(Bear's gonna sit this one out apparently...)

It's official... dinner ROCKS!
(Ruby ate that WHOLE BOWL, but only under the stipulation that every individual bite HAD A NEW SPRINKLE OF CHEESE ON IT! Man, is my kid Italian or WHAT?!@$)

MANGIA TUTTI!

(And Uncle Steve, don't you worry, that entire POT IS STILL FULL so there's plenty for us for tomorrow night my friend, you WILL EAT!)
*wink*

Christmas PJ's...

...because the hat makes me giggle!

The 'Squat'...

...yep, that's right, and you ladies, regardless of size KNOW 'The Squat'.

Jeans come out of the dryer, all toasty & clean, excellent!
If only they slipped back onto your body all smooth & easy like...

... NOT SO MUCH!

One must patiently, carefully, slowly snug said jeans (which, I might add, were perfectly comfortable just prior to you washing them after having been worn a good week, ahhh I miss those jeans) and with the utmost precision, gently tug at the zipper (button fly jeans don't exist in my house) and once complete zip is accomplished, close your eyes, say a prayer & do up single solitary button & IMMEDIATELY EXHALE!

Ok, Jeans on, mission accomplished?
Not quite...

Now it's time for what ALL we ladies lovingly refer to as 'THE SQUAT'.
Where you forcefully slump your body down into a squatting position and gently bounce to stretch your newly acquired jeans into somewhat of a comfortable 'WEARING ZONE' so that you can walk around for the days events without looking like that damn rubber weird doll from the 80's OBIE (remember the weird bowling pin shaped guy who, when squeezed, his eyes & tongue popped out to high heaven & he looked not only drugged but possessed? LOL
Try not to imagine that look on my face but I'd be absolutely lying to you if I didn't admit that for the initial 'squat', this single Momma could easily pass for 'single Italian Obie'.
So sad.

Once the squat/bounce has been done for several repetitions you're in the 'kinda comfortable but not quite like it'll be two days from now' jean zone... and it's really all you can hope for on a 'fresh from the dryer' day... correct?

Whether you're a size 4 or a size 24, jeans out of a dryer require patience, understanding and a boatload of prayers.
And hell, if all that fails, break out the sweats, after all... it's a rainy shitty day & really, who is gonna be checking out my pants anyway, right? LOL

Next Blog... *updated*

... ever click on 'next blog' at the top of page just to see what you'll find?
I did this morning, came across one written all in a foreign language (looked like something bin'friggen' laden would've enjoyed) so a 'no go' on that one.
I click 'NEXT BLOG' again & came across this one...
* Amazing... I just finished reading it & all I can say is, who knew... who knew.
(wiping away tears)
When I tell you that I've been sitting here reading for well over 20 minutes & kinda let my morning slip away from me without so much as a blink, I'm not exaggerating.

I don't know this woman, I've never read her blog before this morning, and yet all I can do is hope to wolf down my cereal with Ruby so that we can have more 'down time' for her to color with her fantastic new crayons
(THANK YOU AUNTIE KAREN!)
and I can plop my eyes right back in front of this screen & find out what happens next.

Sometimes being a voyeur isn't such a bad thing...

or is it?

Sweater... or hat?

( you decide )

Vacation math:

-1 larger suitcase ( borrowed from yours truly)
to accomodate the 97lbs (LITERALLY)
of stuff (Ruby hand me up's) to haul back to NC: $0.00

-USAir's 'OVER WEIGHT LUGGAGE FEE': $60.00

-2 home canned jars of Aunt Allegra's applesauce
(probably what put her over the top weight wise): $0.00

-1 new hand knit pink 'Gwen Hat' for little miss Rock Star: $0.00

________________________________________________________

-Fantastic memories to hold dear in our hearts as well as watching our daughters play together, color together, dance together, be silly together, and just be sweet little girls together: PRICELESS!

________________________________________________________


Karen, thank you as always for a wonderful visit!

We love having you, after all...

... you're family.

Looking forward to PAJAMA NEW YEAR!

*hugs*

Love,

-Ah'MayMee & Roooby!

hehehehe

ps. To those of you with access to Gwen's blog, feel free to go check out all the pictures of our week together, pretty amazing moments. =)

oh & to Michelle & Julia, YOU GIRLS ROCK!
I'm SO GLAD we got a chance to meet & have fun together!
It's a bummer you live so far away but never forget... we'll always have RISOTTO!
*grin*
hehehe

Ruby & Bear...

...a love story.

Lunch just tastes better...

...with FRIENDS!

(LtoR: Gwen, Julia & Ruby)

Sharing...

... with my friend.

1 Momma + 1 Abbey =

1 FOREVER FAMILY!!

CONGRATULATIONS CHRISTI & ABBEY!

Seems to me you two are a
PERFECT FIT!

*smiles*

'Do Over'...

... that's what I wanted this morning, a DO OVER!
Where the hell's a time machine when you need one?
What happened, you ask?

My own little series of unfortunate events if you will...

Turn back the clock to 1992... I graduated top in my class at Essex Aggie Tech in Cosmetology.
Yeah for me, I was finally a hairdresser... something I had always loved & thought of doing but not until a rough patch in nannying (when you're a self employed nanny it's not always easy to find the next job when you need it...) so being faced with no job & not a backup plan in sight, I knew it was time to do something with my 'like' of 'playing with hair' and make it into a valid fallback, a sort of 'employment insurance plan'.

I worked professionally as a stylist for a while, mastering in cutting specifically, and loved it until I realized that I loved nannying more. I left haircutting & went back to my first true love, the children.
Oh, I still cut hair, just now not in a fancy schmancy salon,
but rather out of my humble yet cozy kitchen & now only here & there, not every day.

Now, that said- here's my morning.

I woke up, had my usual Ruby routine of giggles, new diaper, more giggles, breakfast, tea, smiles, vitamins, toast with 'peabarr', more tea, some milk to wash it all down & then a dose of silly time before getting down from the table with Bear in hand
to search out the toys for the day.

Great, Ruby's taken care of, every thing's status quo... time for a SHOWER!
*Oh, it's going to be a GLORIOUS day! I'm actually getting a SHOWER!*
(all you moms KNOW what I mean by that, no need to elaborate, period)

Anyhoo, so I'm in the shower & I realize how absolutely disgustingly LONG my hair is!
Then it occured to me that I hadn't had a haircut since BEFORE LEAVING FOR CHINA!
THAT WAS NEARLY A FREAKIN' YEAR AGO!
*unacceptable*

Man, before becoming a mother I made monthly appts for manicures, pedicures,
hair cuts & colors etc...
After becoming a mother?
(do I really need to get into why a day WITH a shower is a gift?)
LOL

So I was absolutely fed up with the long hair & upon getting out of the shower, grabbed my comb & shears & headed to my bedroom to sit in front of my mirror with my wastebasket in front of me.
I'm sure there's no need to go into detail as I'm guessing you can draw your own conclusions as to what happened next...

...and when it was over... my basket was full of a CRAP TON OF THICK HEAVY BLACK HAIR and I was sitting there wondering when exactly I had lost all my marbles?
(was it last Tuesday... maybe it was Wednesday?)

Immediately I picked up my cell & dialed my friend Alaina (a fellow graduate & stylist) and asked if she wouldn't mind coming over for a bit of damage control?

She giggled & said " you cut it yourself didn't you?" then didn't even wait for an answer cuz she knows, SHE'S BEEN THERE TOO! I think we (hairdressers) all have done it at one point or another.

So, tonight she came over, looked over the long layers I had given myself on the front & sides but not the back, why? CUZ I COULDN'T REACH THE DAMN BACK! lol
She did her damage control & you know what? BEST HAIRCUT EVER! Seriously,
I LOVE IT and could not be happier.
And the best part? She said that I had done a great job & if I could have reached the back properly, that I would not have needed her help at all.
That's a nice thing to hear but it certainly DOESN'T MEAN I'm going to be attempting the
'self shear' again anytime soon!
LOL

My hair is still long (remember it was obscenely long to begin with) so cutting a ton off really didn't make much of a difference... but I'm happy with it. It's cute & flouncy & bouncy and looks healthy & now I'm good for another year.
Cuz God KNOWS that will probably be when I have the time for the next cut. LOL

So, my 'DO OVER' turned out to be a 'MAKE OVER' in disguise!
=)

THANKS ALAINA!
(and no I don't have a photo to share just yet but I'm sure once Karen & Gwen arrive on Tuesday, we'll be taking a zillion pics so eventually you'll all see the doo)
For now, just use your imagination... and put my smiling face on it.
*grin*

A Fun Day!

This is Momma's friend Jason, I like him!
*Momma does too...*
"Hey Momma, why are you upside down?"

Here I am with Jason's kids, Jaxon (left) and Emma (right)...
... we thought we saw something out the window, turns out it was just Mr. Squirrel.

We had a VERY FUN DAY!
Momma says that our first meeting together was a major success!
*whatever that means*

COME OVER AGAIN SOON EMMA AND JAXON!
*you too Jason*
I HAD SO MUCH FUN!!!

XoXoXo

-Ruby Cate