Fun At KID'S STOP!

Man do I LOVE KID'S STOP!!! I have SO MUCH FUN THERE! This ball pit thing is THE BEST! Momma, we NEED TO GET ONE OF THESE FOR MY PLAYROOM!!!!!!!! PLEEEEEEEASE???



Hello little blue friend, I'VE MISSED YOU! Now, let's find Red & Yellow & Green & we'll have ourselves a BALL! *grin*


Here's Green...



Ooh, TWINS!



Oooh, CHECK ME OUT! I wasn't there more than 45 minutes & already THE BOYS ARE KISSING ME!!!!! This cute little number's name was HUNTER! HI HUNTER! Hopefully we'll meet again sometime soon IN THE BALL PIT! hee hee



Awwwwwww SHUCKS, am I BLUSHING???? hehehehe



Hey Hunter, RIGHT BACK AT'CHA BABE! (blowing kisses)



Danny was perhaps a 'tad bit jealous' of the 'going's on' in the ball pit with me and Hunter BUT he's a trooper, figured if he can't beat em, he'd just JOIN EM...



So he just hauled himself up into the ball pit & brought a good book for company... DANNY'S JUST KEWL LIKE THAT! =)



I'm sorry, what? ... I've exceeded the maximum 'ball pit limit' for play time? AW MAN!!!!!



Awww COME ON! I'm cute, can't we break the rules just this ONCE? Look, I'll do a trick for you, watch this: "TOUCHDOWN!!!!" wasn't that worthy of just a few more minutes? ;)



HA HA! I KNEW You'd see things MY WAY! =) Now, where is my FAVORITE BALL?



I know you're in here SOMEWHERE.... hmmmmmmmmm ... come to me little ball, IT'S TIME TO PLAY!




Ahhhh, my little squished green friend! YOU'VE COME BACK TO ME!!!!!!!!! Now I shall KISS YOU!



Oh stop it, you're embarrassing me! It was JUST A LITTLE KISS! hehehehe
Ok, maybe it was kinda silly, but I'M JUST A SILLY KINDA GAL!!!! ;)



WOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOO THANK YOU KID'S STOP FOR ANOTHER FUNFILLED AFTERNOON IN THE BALL PIT!!!!!!!!!! (next time can we make sure that Hunter is gonna be there again? ) hehehehe

I'm not alone...

... so my bestest friend in the world also has herself a 'night time friend'... allow me to introduce to you, Squeekey!! She's had her friend far longer than I've had William Bear but both are MUCH LOVED! Hell, both came with us to the Cayman Islands a few years ago when we went for a vacation! They're world travelers! =) I guess Ruby's Bear is even a world traveler as well seeing as how he trecked his toosh half way across the world for little miss Cheeks. =) hee hee

Ok, now I want to know WHO ELSE OUT THERE had a 'CHILD HOOD FRIEND' they just still can't SLEEP WITHOUT?! C'mon people, Karen & Myself and Jen can't be the ONLY THREE! I know for a fact that Ruby's 'name sake' Catherine (in honor of the 'Cate' in Ruby Cate) has herself a TOBY bear from the 70's... I'd post a pic but I couldn't find him on ebay, so unless Aunt Catherine sends me his pic, you'll just have to imagine him. SO LADIES... cough up the details, because THIS SINGLE MOMMY WANTS TO KNOW! =)

WOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOO

-Amy

NOGGIN ROCKS!!!* (*updated with PICS of Miss Ruby's BOOTS!!)

(below is a picture that Momma and I drew together using Noggin's DOODLE PAD! isn't it NEAT?! It's a pic of Momma pulling me in my new SLED that I got for CHRISTMAS! ) YIPPEE!


JACKS BIG MUSIC SHOW!!!

WELCOME TO RUBY'S FAVORITE HALF HOUR OF MUSIC & DANCING!!!

Click on the link above to be transported to a world where it's fun to be silly and dance and wiggle & sing & JUST HAVE FUN! =)

Ruby's favorite songs can be found by clicking on 'Mel' the dog & the videos are listed by a little image of each video, she likes Grumpy (the 5th image in from the left) and her ALL TIME FAVORITE IS BOOTS!! (13th in from the left, pic of a pair of red rubber boots!)


When that song comes on I DANCE EVERYWHERE AROUND THE HOUSE IN MY LADYBUG BOOTS THAT NANNA BOUGHT FOR ME SPECIAL!!!!! THANK YOU NANNA I LOVE MY BOOTS!!!!!!!! =)

And just when you think that you've had all the fun you could POSSIBLY have, the Schwartzman Quartet


arrives & ARE THESE LITTLE FELLAS A HOOT! I think Momma loves them more than I DO!

(The Schwartzman Quartet is an a cappella puppet singing group that stops by once an episode to sing a theme-related song to help solve the dilemma faced by the friends. They just knock on the clubhouse door out of the blue and happen to have a related song up their sleeves. They’re a well-coordinated group with striped turtlenecks and freckles. They definitely have a fresh-faced 1950s look and sound to them. )

ENJOY EVERYONE!!!!!! =)

Noggin is ch. 223 here for us in Boston, check your local cable guide to see if your provider has Noggin & if you don't get it, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, CALL & ORDER IT TODAY!!! Best television for preschool kids HANDS DOWN!

Ruby's little corner of the world*... (*Updated, see clothing at bottom...)

Ok, so I've been getting emails from people asking about Ruby's room, what's it like, what colors did I pick, etc etc... so, in keeping with the saying " a picture paints a thousand words..."
I'm gonna do a little painting right now for your enjoyment...

This is the Original Bear that I gave to Ruby on 'Gotcha' day on Nov 20th, 2005. I have since retired him so as to avoid him falling apart & we have 3 replacement 'Bears' that she loves and Momma can wash them when they're filthy! (Which is every other day practically!) Also, that card with her name on it in English & Chinese was given to me while at Pearl Market buying Ruby's pearls... wasn't that sweet of the saleswoman? =)

Next, is a tour of Ruby's Bedroom... ENJOY!














And these next few pics are of outfits that I bought for Miss Ruby while in Guangzhou... things there are BEAUTIFUL & CHEAP! Remember this ladies before you travel, DON'T GO INSANE BUYING CLOTHES HERE, TRUST ME, there's far too many gorgeous outfits in china to bring home dirt cheap! =) YOUR HUSBANDS WILL THANK YOU FOR IT & FOR YOU SINGLE GALS, YOUR POCKETBOOK WILL THANK YOU! ;)


Above: Gorgeous crimson colored Linen Dress with embroidered rose accents: $4 american dollars



Red Silk Dress with lots of embroidered accents all over: $4 american dollars



Same thing with this gorgeous teal blue one, how gorgeous is that color? IT'S EVEN PRETTIER WHEN YOU'RE ONLYPAYING 4 AMERICAN BUCKS FOR IT TOO! ;) hehehe Above silk jacket was only $8 american dollars...


And finally, this gorgeous WINTER COAT was ONLY $12 AMERICAN DOLLARS!!! Seriously, please PLEASE save your money, don't give it to China Sprout for clothing, SAVE your MONEY and WAIT till you're in CHINA! The things for sale there are, as you can see, GORGEOUS & REALLY CHEAP! (kinda like me) LOL hahahahaha That's right Ruby, Momma's gorgeous & cheap! HAHAHAA Listen, I too bought things from China Sprout before I left for china & I wouldn't change it because what I bought were little dolls & a couple books I couldn't find anywhere else, but I didn't buy clothes from them & I advise anyone headed there soon to ALSO DO THE SAME. =) You'll be glad you waited! Plus, it just makes more sense to wait till you KNOW how big your child is before buying clothes... that way, you can hold the things up to them to make sure it'll be a good fit first of all, and second of all, IT'S JUST MORE FUN SHOPPING WITH YOUR PRECIOUS BABY! I know Ruby and I had a BLAST on Shaimian Island, Guangzhou!

Hope this was helpful to those of you curious about Ruby's digs'... speaking of little miss Cheeks, she's OUT COLD in bed right now... and Momma has a date with a nice steaming cup of TEA... MY FAVORITE BRAND EVER! If you've never tried it, GET YOUR BUTT TO THE STORE & PICK SOME UP, OMG YOU WON'T BE DISSAPPOINTED! *grin*

G'night all, sweet dreams!

-Amy & one very adorable, very SOUND ASLEEP Miss Ruby Cate. =)

Best Friends...

... can sometimes come in small asian packages.

I LOVE YOU RUBY!!!

Love,

-Momma

Childhood friends & WHY EBAY ROCKS!!! (long story, but a happy ending...)

... ok, so Amy here (Ruby is down for her morning nap) and I was on the phone this morning with my good friend Karen ( Gwen was napping too... ) and we were chatting about her Gwen's little 'blue dog' that she loves & only has ONE of! I began to tell her about the JOYS of EBAY and she said she looked but couldn't find it... I then shared with Karen the story of 'William Bear' and how I wanted to find one 'just like him' for my Ruby. Now, Ruby has since obviously fallen in love with her good friend Bear, so right now this story is gonna seem silly but SOMEDAY she may fall for her updated version of MY childhood friend. Here's the story:

When I was about 11 years old, my mom took me to Marshalls one day & you know how kids are when they're dragged to go shopping, I did what any decent 11 year old kid would do, SEARCH OUT THE TOYS to at least make this mandatory time in a 'grown up store' BEARABLE! (no pun intended...)

I found a HUGE BIN FUL OF THESE ADORABLE BEARS! They were made by Gund (still one of my FAVORITE STUFFED ANIMAL BRANDS TO THIS DAY!) and I don't remember how much they were but they were all the SAME BEAR in this HUGE bin & this particular one kept looking at me & was begging me to take him home & love him. So after several " Aw, c'mon mom pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease" comments, Chip Chip came home with me. He was HANDS DOWN my favorite bear EVER...
(fast forward about 2 years...)

I'm 13 now, and Chip Chip comes with me EVERYWHERE... this particular time he found himself on a plane headed with me and my family to ITALY to visit relatives!
While there, my good friend William (Italian & 15 at the time & CUTE AS A BUTTON TO ME!) was admiring Chip Chip and said he had never had a bear so cute cuz they didn't have them that cute in Italy. (keep in mind I was diggin' William big time) so I let him play with Chip Chip and it just got more involved from there... by the time we were ready to leave a few weeks later, William was giving Chip Chip a bigger hug than he was giving me & my heart turned to mush & I asked William if he would like to KEEP Chip Chip? OMG HE WAS THRILLED! He said he would take good care of him & always remember me every night when he held him as he slept... so I hugged my beloved friend one last time & then hugged William as well & with tears in my eyes, I went back to my Zia's (aunt's) house to sleep one last night in Italy before flying home the next day. It was the LONGEST NIGHT OF MY LIFE! Sleeping without my fuzzy friend wrapped up in my arms was just the hardest thing I'd ever done to that point but I knew I did the right thing... first big lesson as a kid of 13, sometimes doing the right thing isn't always easy.

(fastforward a few months)

Mom and I go back to Marshalls for a shopping trip, I ONLY WENT because in my heart I just KNEW that they would HAVE TO HAVE another bin FULL of my FUZZY FRIEND! And even though the chances were slim, off to the 'grownup store' I went, purely out of desperation for a chance to find another one of my beloved night time companion. *fingers crossed wishing so loud in my head I started speaking out loud* " Please God let there be another Chip Chip... PLEASE !" " I'll make my bed every morning!, I'll eat all my broccoli! ... etc " (bargaining began, it wasn't pretty!)

We get there, Mom starts shopping (aka:browsing, a several hour event...) and I frantically search every last BIN in the store for my long lost friend who now lives in Cretone, Italy.

Bin after bin, nothing... finally, when I was just about to give up, there was one last bin I hadn't looked in and I thought, well I'll look but I know he's not there... followed by some whining of "Can we just go home nooooww Mom, pleeeeeease????"

I go over & peek inside and OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG CHIP CHIP'S HALF WAY UP THE BIN WALLS! I could barely reach in deep enough to get one but the first one I got my hands on was INSTANTLY MY NEW FRIEND!


Now, I knew it wasn't my original Chip Chip, he could never truly be replaced BUT this new little guy was still cute and I loved him already... so Mom said she'd get him & on the ride home I was thinking of what to call him, as I would be giving him a different name, his OWN name...

Then it occured to me, to always remember Chip Chip & where he is now, I named my new friend 'William Bear' after my good friend William and now Chip Chip's new 'Dad'...

So, William bear was ADOPTED and has been my night time SNUGGLE FRIEND EVER SINCE! YEP, THAT'S RIGHT FOLKS, YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST, I'M 33 AND I STILL SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL EVERY NIGHT WITHOUT FAIL! When I go to a friends house to spend the night, William goes too... =)


(it's faint but can you see that, 1981 on the tag? MAN I'M OLD!)

Now, he's been MUCH LOVED (as you can see) over these past 20 years and it shows but I wouldn't have it any other way! (he fits perfectly between my 'girls' if you know what I mean... any women out there bigger than a b cup UNDERSTANDS WHAT I'M TALKIN' BOUT!) hee hee that's one LUCKY BEAR! hehehe ;)

So, I knew I wanted to try to find Ruby her very own 'William Bear' and thought, UGH he's SO OLD I'll probably NEVER find him... but if I'm nothing else, I'm DETERMINED! So, I went to the gund site first, no luck, hit a few 'Marshall's stores', still no luck... then it dawned on me...
EBAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
for weeks I searched hoping to find a needle in a haystack...
... OUCH! What the hell was that I just sat on? OMG YOU'VE GOTTA BE FREAKIN' KIDDING ME!!! A NEEDLE?!!#@?%#%$^#$%^ WOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE YOU TO SAID "NEEDLE" from my childhood HAYSTACK:


I NEARLY SHIT MYSELF WHEN I FOUND HIM!!!!!!! Who the HELL WOULD BUY HIM & KEEP HIM IN THIS PRISTINE CONDITION ALL THESE YEARS??????#$% WHO CARES?$%#$%$ HE'S MINE!!!!!!!!!!!! Well, he's Ruby's now, but truth be told, she has yet to look twice at him because there is only ONE BEAR in her life currently... and who knows, maybe she'll never fall in love with him, maybe she'll ALWAYS ONLY love BEAR, but either way, this newest bear is here to stay & if she doesn't want him, I know of a perfect spot for this little guy every night. =) He'll just have to share with William that's all! ;) (with aging comes GRAVITY and NOT in the good perky way, if you know what I'm sayin!!!) A 'Backup Bear' ISN'T A BAD IDEA! hehehehe


So Karen, PLEASE LET ME FIND YOUR NEEDLE IN YOUR BLUE DOG HAYSTACK!!!!! =)

I'm up for the challenge girlie! LET'S DO THIS! =)

-Amy

PS. Give your precious P.B. a hug for me & let him know that his Momma isn't the only silly adult who STILL loves her childhood friend, regardless of everything (*grin*) they've been through over these many many MANY years! (Yes Karen, we're OLD! ) ;)