OUT with the old & IN with the new!!!

This is Ruby's old chair, her 1st "princess chair" that I bought for her at TARGET!
*love that store*
This chair wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I bought it, HOWEVER...
it was a short kid's chair, soft enough to not be a danger to her & cute enough to be worthy
of being RUBY'S CHAIR! *grin*
It's pink & shiny & even had a little purple 'silk skirt' around the front, but it was the only chair in the kids section that day so it's not like I had alot of options... so I just went with it.

Ruby liked it but seemed frusterated at times that she 'slid out of it' so easily, as it was silky nylon type material that let her cute toosh just slip right off it at the slightest movement.
Not exactly the chair I had envisioned... but it'll do for now, right?

WRONG! Meet, THE NEW PRINCESS CHAIR! (Now, I call it the princess chair, not because I'm one of those' cheezy parents' who actually calls my daugher my 'princess' cuz I'm not, I typically call her my 'doodle bug' or my 'snickerdoodle' or my 'pal' and/or 'buddy'. I actually am calling the chair the 'princess chair' because believe it or not, it truly came from a line they're calling "the Princess collection", yeah yeah, I know... cheezy but cute.)
Ruby & I are a team, we're best friends... and although she's cute & feminine looking, she's one tough cookie, make no mistake! (if my father has his way she'll be playing center forward in soccer sooner, rather than later!)

So I was at Target again yesterday with my friend Steve and literally they had JUST ONE CHAIR, (again, what's with the 'only one chair' bit? do they think that there's only one kid in all of MA who needs a soft toasty chair to call their own?... C'MON TARGET, BE TEAM PLAYERS!) ANYWAY, so I see this chair & it's EXACTLY WHAT I HAD PICTURED INITIALLY BUT WAS UNABLE TO FIND!!!! I WAS IN HEAVEN!!!!!! THIS WAS THE CHAIR!!!!!!!!!!
It's SOFT!
It's FUZZY!!
It's STURDY!!!
It doesn't tip over if she sits in it too hard!!!!
It doesn't cause her to SLIP OFF CUZ OF THE SMOOTH FABRIC, NO WAY, THIS BAD BOY HUGS MY BABY'S CUTE BOTTOM WITH LOTS OF LOVE & CARE THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!!!!!
IT'S PERFECT,
IT'S RUBY'S CHAIR!!!!!


So, I bought the NEW CHAIR & brought the OLD ONE back & returned it for a store credit & RUBY LOVES THIS NEW CHAIR SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT OLD STUPID ONE!
She loves to sit in it & read her books, or cuddle with Bear or watch Jacks Big Music Show in it, it's her thinking chair, her let's get silly chair, her kick back & relax chair, it's THE CHAIR!
And this Momma COULD NOT BE HAPPIER!
(also was great that I managed not to lose any money in this whole fiasco... Target is really great about 'no questions asked' type deal, they just issue you store credit if you're not happy, well THAT WORKED JUST FINE FOR ME!)
So, Out with the OLD & in with the NEW!
Ruby, Momma loves you so much and I'm SO HAPPY that you LOVE YOUR NEW CHAIR!
*BIG HUGS*

WOOOO HOOOO THEY MADE IT!!!!!

Susan & Will ARE IN BEIJING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just received this email from her:

Ni Hao from Beijing. Our flight got in this afternoon around 3:40 and we made it safe, as did our luggage. Nothing exciting today. We are both beat and ready for bed (It's 9:20 pm on Thursday nite. Tomorrow we'll try to post pictures we take and have a longer email.

love to all

Susan

IT'S SO EXCITING!!!!!!!!!!! THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR THEIR PRAYERS FOR A SAFE DAY OF TRAVEL, IT WORKED!!! =)
SO LOOKING FORWARD TO PICTURES OF THEIR PRECIOUS OLIVIA!!!

WHAT A DOLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One Word...

I received the following in an email tonight from my bestest friend, Jen. (aka; the 'hawt' librarian)

**Describe ME in ONE WORD...just one word! Send it to me only, then send

this message to your friends and see how many strange things people say

about you!

This could be fun! Just hit reply and send me my one word back. Then

forward this message on to your friends (including me) and see what they

say about you!



GAME ON!!**

I replied to her with my 'one word' that I felt best described her, and was happy with what I sent &

thought to myself...

" This is kinda neat, maybe I will send this out to some people to see what comes back?"

So I started the tedious task of remembering EVERYONE'S email (YEAH RIGHT, LIKE THAT'LL HAPPEN!)

My memory was never really all that good to begin with but what little of it I 'had', my MS has decided to promptly

steal from me so, I'm left with posting this publicly on my Blog, which I'm completely ok with, I mean- after all...

any of you who truly know me, know that I'm about as FAR from shy & reserved as they come, so I say BRING IT ON!

Comment away with your 'ONE WORD' for me RIGHT HERE on this post.

If you would like to then 'cut and paste' the actual email to others, feel free. =)

Anyone who leaves a 'one word' comment on my blog will get a return 'one word' from me,

assuming of course that I know you well enough to be able to return the favor!

Enjoy everyone & let the 'ONE WORD' games BEGIN! =)

The journey of a thousand miles...

... begins with a single FLIGHT!!!

OH HAPPY DAY!!!

The The Laukats ARE ON THEIR WAY TO CHINA AS I TYPE THIS!!!!!!!!!! C'mon & follow their journey to Olivia EVERY STEP OF THE WAY won't you?


Con'grats Susan & Will, YOU WILL ALL BE IN OUR THOUGHTS & PRAYERS THESE NEXT TWO WEEKS AS YOUR LIVES ARE ABOUT TO CHANGE FOREVER IN THE MOST MAGICAL OF WAYS!!!!!!!!!
CONGRATULATIONS!!!! It's a WILD RIDE with a VERY HAPPY ENDING!!!

*BIG CHEEZY HAPPY FOR YOU GRIN!*

Love,

Amy & Ruby Cate

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Ruby's 1st Valentine's Day!!!

What a FUN DAY I HAD TODAY!!

Nanna and Nonno gave me my first Valentine's Day Card from them & also some cute outfits and even a book with buttons to push & it plays MUSIC!
(I loved that cuz I LOVE MUSIC!!)


Then, Momma and I played silly games with Bear for a while, he has fun with us, cuz we're SILLY!

(Happy Valentine's Day Bear, I love ya buddy!)

Then my Uncle Steve, my Nanna "T" and Auntie Nayne came over!! (Auntie Nayne is the one who went with Momma to get me all the way over in China!!)

EVERYONE BROUGHT ME FUN PRESENTS!! IT WAS LIKE MAGIC!

Nanna "T" brought her shining smiles and lots of hugs & kisses and a big ole' loaf of BREAD! ( to go with the dinner Momma made for everyone...)

Uncle Steve brought me BONGOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I nearly fell out of my PINK PRINCESS CHAIR! I LOVE THEM SO MUCH & I AM ALREADY A GOOD BONGO PLAYER!!
(I've been practicing on a tin 'crayon' can Momma had for me!)




Then Auntie Nayne gave me a STAR BALLOON and some LADYBUG JEWLERY!
(Momma says that's for when I'm older but I did love the box it came in and I dig the balloon!)


Ebenezer didn't look all that impressed with everyone...

...so he finally just got fed up with everything & went to hide behind a couch pillow.

Poor Ebenezer, it's hard being the 'top dog' for ten years running only to have his spot now shared with a small cheeky asian gal, I didn't mean to cramp your style buddy but Momma says there's room enough in her heart & home for BOTH OF US!
(& Bear TOO!)

All in all, I 'd say it was a GREAT DAY!
I wonder what we're going to do TOMORROW?? =)



G'night everyone, Bear & I are WIPED OUT!

ZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

To My BESTEST FRIEND on her BIRTHDAY!!!

Yup, that's right, it's NOT JUST VALENTINE'S DAY for me, in fact, I don't much care for this holiday really, except that it happens to be my BEST FRIENDS aka: Mrs.Elvis BIRTHDAY!!!

(here's a pic of us back in the day with me at my highest weight ever, it's ugly people, don't look too long at me but CHECK OUT MY BESTEST BUD JEN!!! ! Aint' she CUTE!!!)


I won't say how old she is because that would be impolite, but for those of you fond of math, let's say I'm going to turn 34 this year, perhaps we'd like to take 2 of those years away and we MIGHT come out with a number similar to 32? Perhaps, but then again we all know I was never very good at math!
(lunch, now there's a subject I never failed, I mean christ, LOOK AT ME!!!) hehehe

Anyhoo, so HERE'S A GREAT BIG SHOUT OUT TO MY BESTEST FRIEND / LIBRARIAN/ PUGGLE MOMMY/ LATE NIGHT PHONE CHAT BUDDY/ INFO FINDER/ KNITTING PARTNER/ MASTER BAKERY CHEF ALA'EASY BAKE... (pause)

A few birthday's ago I bought Jen her VERY FIRST Easy Bake Oven, THAT'S RIGHT, IT WAS HER FIRST! SHE DIDN'T HAVE ONE AS A CHILD! (Cheryl, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING NOT BUYING YOUR CHILD AN EASY BAKE OVEN@#$@#$%#$%^) I'll have to talk to her about that LATER!
Anyhoo, Jen got STRAIGHT TO WORK & put this bad boy together & PROMPTLY MADE THE MOST DELICIOUS BIRTHDAY CAKE WITH A LIGHTBULB THAT I'VE EVER TASTED!
Who says Betty Crocker has to have all the fun, GIVE MY GIRL A LIGHTBULB & A CAKE MIX WHERE YOU JUST ADD WATER & VOILA', INSTANT BIRTHDAY CAKE!!!

(un-pause)...CROSS STITCH TEACHER/ EAR TO LEND/ SHOULDER TO CRY ON/ BESTEST BUDDY I COULD EVER HOPE FOR IN A MILLION YEARS!!!!!!!!!!

(I'll give you all time to get some tissue now...)

SO PLEASE JOIN ME IN SHOUTING THREE CHEERS FOR JEN!!!!!!!!!!!


<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3>HIP HIP HORRAYYYYYYYYYYYY
HIP HIP HORRAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
HIP HIP HORRAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY TODAY!!!

<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3


HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(I call dib's on your SPANKINGS!)

*evilgrin*

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Let's all WISH MY GOOD BUDDY JEN A VERY HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TODAY SHALL WE? SHE LOVES GETTING COMMENTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SO BRING ON THE BIRTHDAY CHEER!!! =)

After all, I know not all of you have a 'valentine' so what else have you got to do today, right? LOL
WISH MY BEST FRIEND IN THE WORLD A HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
please? =)

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

My Sleepy Little...

... Valentine. <3

Good ...

... Morning HAIR! hahahaha

Nap Time COOKIN'! *RECIPE UPDATE!!*

That's right... it's NAP TIME here in the ole' Ruby & Bear household,
... so while Little Miss 'Sweet Cheeks' & her Bear catch some Zzzz's,
this Momma is gonna GET COOKIN!
I'm gonna throw together a special meal I plan on serving tomorrow night
when my Aunt Allegra and my Cousin Steve visit!
(Nanna "T" and Uncle Steve to miss Ruby...)
It's my Nonna's Pasta Fagioli Recipe and MAN IT'S GOOD!
My Mother makes it alot and it's just REALLY YUMMY!! AND SUPER EASY TO MAKE!!!!

(you know I'm gonna share the recipe with all of you, c'mon!)

THAT'S RIGHT, DIRECTIONS COMPLETE WITH PICTURES! BOOO-YA!

(Do ALL YOUR PREP WORK AHEAD OF TIME & have veggies chopped & READY TO GO)

So, above we have all the ingredients:

5-6 stalks of Celery diced
1 pkg baby carrots cut into little circles
1 small onion diced
1 can diced del monte tomatos
1 can Bush's Canellini Beans (white kidney beans)
2 Tablespoons minced Garlic
1 1/4 cups ditalini pasta (uncooked)
*4 cups chicken stock (more if needed, make by the bullion cube one cup at a time so as not to waste...)

*I actually ended up using 8 cups exactly for this batch because I don't like it too thick but any more than 8 would've been too runny*

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (not pictured)
Salt & Pepper to taste.


Cover the bottom of a large pot with Olive Oil & put on med high heat.
Once it's good & hot, add two heaping tablespoons of minced garlic & stir.
In a couple of minutes, add all the veggies...


The Celery...


The Onions...


The Carrots...


And Mix Well... cook until celery becomes transparent.


Then add chicken stock enough to cover the veggies & let simmer.


If you find that the simmering caused most of your stock to evaporate,
feel free to add more stock until it looks like the pic above.

In about five minutes or so you want to add your Can of Tomatos,
JUICE & ALL, DO NOT DRAIN!



And your can of Beans, SAME DEAL, DO NOT DRAIN, YOU WANT ALL THE JUICE PLUS THE BEANS ADDED TO THE POT! =)


Turn down the heat to low'ish (2 or 3 on my stove) and let simmer for a couple of hours until Veggies are FULLY COOKED!


Add the pasta to the pot uncooked & it cooks in the broth of the pot within 20 minutes.
You can serve it immediately after if you like but I find that it's WAY BETTER the NEXT DAY!
I will take mine off the stove & let it come to room temp & put the pot in the fridge.
Tomorrow night, when my company gets here, I'll just heat individual bowls one at a time in the micro, I won't reheat the WHOLE POT cuz then the pasta gets TOO MUSHY!

My mom thinks that it's best served right away but my Father & I both agree that it's FAR MORE TASTY the SECOND DAY! =)

You all can do whatever you please. =)
I serve mine with freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese on top and fresh sliced Italian bread & butter.
*drool*
IT'S SO YUMMY I CAN'T WAIT FOR TOMORROW NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!

Enjoy everyone!
* HAPPY VALENTINES DAY A LITTLE EARLY!*

Ruby & Bear's 1ST SLEDDING ADVENTURE!

Ok Bear, we're all suited up... and good thing too cuz it's COLD OUT HERE!! But maybe this'll be FUN! C'MON MOMMA, LET'S BOOGIE!!!

Ok, off to a good start, but let's crank it up another notch, can we Momma?


Oh yeah, NOW THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN' ABOUT!! GO MOMMA GO!!


HOLD ON TIGHT BEAR!!!

WHEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!

The Aftermath...

So, I think in all total we got over a foot & a half of snow! It is pretty though, isn't it?
I had to take these pics NOW because, trust me... before this day is over this stuff will end up getting black from all the cars driving by etc.. & look REALLY GROSS!
But right now, it looks like a WINTER WONDERLAND! And I'm pretty sure with all the kids being out of School today (if in fact they are, I'm just guessing) that they're all gonna LOVE SLEDDING IN THIS STUFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I may even take Ruby outside today to bop around in HER SLED in the driveway! =) hehehehe

The sweetest smile...

I love you baby! Momma loves you SO MUCH!!
xoxoxoxoxo

(don't forget everyone to check out all the pic's from today's Nor'easter! KICK ASS SNOWFALL HERE IN MA! It's pretiest at NIGHT! Enjoy!)