cry, cry Baby!

Last night my in-laws offered to keep Ryan for the evening and take him along to run some errands and have dinner. I was excited for the little break in my day between working 8 hours and doing the nightly routine at home! I opted to skip the gym last night so I could go home to (catch up on As The World Turns and lay on the couch) make dinner, put away some laundry, clean the kitchen and relax. When Nanny and Papi brought Ryan home at 9:00ish last night, Nanny walked Ryan up to the door and I could immediately hear crying. NOT crying because he couldn't wait to get in the door to see Jake and I - crying because he DID NOT want to come home! I tried calming him down explaining that Nanny and Papi needed to get home and go to bed too and that he would see Nanny first thing in the morning but he was having no part of that explanation! I told Ryan he was hurting Mommy's feelings and that I was so glad he was finally home but again he was having no part of my reasoning! We finally told Ryan to wave bye-bye and took him in the house where he proceeded to cry and throw a fit.

While out and about with Nanny and Papi, Ryan got some cool little plastic dinosaur toys. One of said toys makes noise like a dinosaur when you press the button on its belly. I was able to get a smile and a few laughs out of Ryan when he tried scaring me with the dinosaur sounds! We shared a few laughs and colored a little with his new colored pencils before I changed his clothes and put him down for the night.

I only got to spend about 20 minutes with Ryan last night but it was probably the longest 20 minutes of my day! I love this kid more than life itself - but he can throw quite a fit when he's not getting what he wants and obviously the last thing he wanted yesterday was to come home and spend some time with his Mommy who missed him dearly for the 4 hours he was gone!

Yum-O!

Thanks to Rachael Ray, we had a delicious dinner tonight!


We had Honey-Mustard Pork Chops with The Works Baked Potatoes.
This is the sour cream, bacon and shredded cheddar cheese waiting for the baked potatoes to be done...then I scooped out the potatoes and added it to this mixture before adding it all back to the potatoes...so good!


And here's the finished product (that Pepsi is Jake's!). Thanks Rachael Ray for making recipes so easy even I can follow them!


Hope everyone had a great weekend.

No Soda and a Gym Membership

I just realized that it has been 2 whole months since I last drank a soda! Woo-hoo! I've had a few sips (maybe 3 total) since I gave them up but it has not been as hard as I thought it would be to quit drinking them.

Also...

I rejoined the gym! Myself and my co-workers are now all signed up with new gym memberships and are going to help one another stay motivated to going to the gym at least 3 days a week. We are all very busy gals and have families to go home and take care of in the evenings so devoting an hour or so for 3 nights a week is going to be a good start for us.

It's like a mid-year resolution!

Etsy Shop!

Go check out my Etsy Shop today! It's full of hairbows and tutus, ready to be shipped to you (or your daughter, sister, niece, granddaughter and friends) today! I'm still working on the hairbow holder and headband portion of the Etsy Shop but should have them up soon, so check back often for new additions to the website! Debbie and I are working on making more tutus, headbands and hairbows to stock a booth at the Top of the Line Holiday Marketplace in Visalia in November. That will be a 3 day-long craft show just before the holidays so we'll need to be ready to go with lots of crafts!

Visit us at: http://www.hairbowsandtutus.etsy.com/

Thank you in advance for your support! :)

KISS Country 93.7 and Children's Hospital Central California

Good Morning All! I have signed up to be a "Change Bandit" for KISS Country 93.7 to raise money for Children's Hospital Central California once again this year. I have been a part of the Change Bandit program since 2002 I believe (maybe 2001).

What is a Change Bandit, you ask? Good question! Change Bandits are volunteers who “rob” co-workers, classmates, families and friends of their change during the month leading up to the “Bandit Bash.” A "Bandit Bash" is the night all the Change Bandits gather to turn in their collected donations at a reception and concert! This year's Bandit Bash will feature recording artists Chris Young (winner of Nashville Star) and Richie McDonald (former lead singer of Lonestar)!

My personal goal this year is to raise $300.00! In years past, I have been able to collect more than $200.00 from co-workers, friends and family. If you would like to make a donation to support Children's Hospital Central California, please contact me for more details. You can mail checks to me, payable to Children's Hospital Foundation, or we can meet up if you would like to donate some change or cash. The Bandit Bash will be held on Thursday, August 27. Therefore, I will attempt to have all my donations wrapped up by Tuesday, August 25.

Thank you in advance for your support of the Change Bandit program and Children's Hospital Central California!