a flurry or two

yes, you read correctly! it wouldn't be PA without a few snow flurries in the middle of spring...grr!


MySpace Codes!

Annie

shortcake for a shortcake

one of ally's favorites these days is "cake-cake" (aka strawberry shortcake)...personally i believe she would much rather have a plate of whip cream and a lot less cake-cake. i started her early loving sugar, i know, i know, mom of the year here!

Fan Fest 2008

It was a nice weekend, however the rain did spoil the Fan Fest at Heinz Field on Saturday just a tad. Keith would like to think that is the reason he missed the field goal he kicked, but I think it was poor mechanics! Haha!
Anyways, here are some candid shots from the day...hope you enjoy!

some big news...

this has been quite an interesting week as i look back over it...usually you don't have a lot going on in your life at one time but this week took the cake as far as big happenings! i thought i would devote this posting to two big ones of the week:

JAMIE, BEN and KENDALL for their exciting news of currently finding out they are having a baby boy! congrats also to breaking the chain of most pilot families who have girls! like us!

CINDY and CLIFF - for their newest committment to one another. congrats on the engagement, the wedding plans and your move to ENGLAND! i knew that some day your prince charming would come! you deserve it. the journey you are both about to take will be one of many and i wish you all the luck in the world. i sure am going to miss you not living in the states, but i am serious about making a visit europe to see you :)

aside from such great news comes so not so great news, but i am praying that both my uncle angelo and uncle charlie will soon be on the mend. i was sorry to hear that both went in for emergency surgery this past week within a day of each other.

elsewhere, my dad had his first interview this past week for a job in his new degree (which he will be finishing up this may)...not too shabby for a 60 year old man who lost the only stable job he really knew 18 months ago when his company moved overseas. we will know if he got the position in a few days, regardless though the bigger accomplishment has been seeing him finish school! way to go dad!

on tap this weekend: fan fest (heinz field), cleaning (grr!) and maybe a hike on sunday in the woods with the family.

backyardigans live or not....

well, wednesday night we decided to take ally to the city to see the backyardigans live...sounds like an awesome time right? well, it couldn't be more of a disaster of a night. ally probably watched all of 15 minutes before turning into a pumpkin and throwing a fit. plus we got a little lost and missed about the first 10 minutes of the show as well. then we had to stand in a line to pay our parking garage ticket for 30 minutes after the show.

moral of the story: 2 year olds are defintely not up for a show of this caliber esp. on a weeknight.

all and all, we might as well of threw $90 in the garbage. live and learn i guess :)

who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?

i found today to be very inspiring for several reasons...

first, my class of mostly juniors and seniors took their final fitness assessments and the majority of the class improved tremendously - their bright smiles filled up my morning. it's always good to inspire people to be healthier and in return happier. it just feels good down to the soul. i have gotten a lot of good feedback from those smiles and i truly feel as though i have done my job as their professor.

second, i found that teaching something new in my curriculum of striking and fielding was well worth the risk...my students really enjoyed learning new games that they could use with limited equipment and space. in fact the most negative student i have come to know in two semesters here at SRU, complimented me on introducing this new style of game play - it caught me off guard, but i was thankful.

and lastly, something i have been working on for the past couple of years is doing a lot less complaining about things that i have no real control over and being more accepting of the way things are...so i was thinking today that this past couple of weeks have been really trying at home for numerous reasons, but somehow having a positive outlook really has made a big difference in my whole demeanor. i have slept really well, continued to workout and have been able to concentrate better. it just occurred to me that it is probably because i have been able to abstain from complaining and just start living. it was quite profound.

needless to say, this old dog as adopted a new way of living and i hope to continue taking risks, accepting things as they are and enjoying life :-)

Danica finally does it...

i am not a big nascar fan, however, seeing as though it is a sport where men mostly dominant i thought i would send out a little shout to miss danica for her first ever major win! i guess she was embarrassed about the tears of joy, i guess she figured it was a little too feminine - i personally feel that acomplishments like that are few and far between so let it all out!

also congrats to lorena ochoa for her accompishments on the LPGA tour!


Men forget everything; women remember everything. That's why men need instant replays in sports. They've already forgotten what happened.
--Rita Rudner

sunday mornings

this particular sunday morning was special, we stayed in our pj's until 9:30am, a rare occassion in the ruiz house. but, it was fantastic! no hurry, no rush, no craziness for one whole day of the weekend :)

g l o r i o u s!

funny how the small things in life have a way of making such a difference!

Check out my Slide Show!

a day at the races....

here are some pics from the race today...i finished 3rd in the women's division and keith finished fifth in the men's. the hills were very challenging as there were 3 of them embedded in the 3.2 mile course. as for miss allyson, well, that is a whole other story...she had practiced all week ready...set...go! well, when she lined up at the starting line, she had a fit so we never ever got to see her run. unfortunately, that is the temperment of a 2 year old, you can't make them do anything unless they WANT to do it. jadyn also broke into tears seconds before the race...monkey see, monkey do i guess. it is a shame though, because they probably would have gave those front-runners a challenge :) i guess we got many years of training ahead of us!

special thanks to ashley for all the great pics!

ps. as you can see, mommy has started early training sessions with basketball too!

oh, those ears part 2

the procedure was a success. unfortunately, the tubes are now part of our daughter's anatomy! doc said that ally's ears were pretty bad from past ear infections and he firmly feels that she will be much happier now that she can hear clearly after all this time.

she did very well all day holding out without food and having no nap, but it did catch up with us all following surgery when she had a 45 minute meltdown. i mean the full deal...screaming, kicking, log rolling around, crying. it was pitiful. she didn't want either keith or i to touch her, it was very had not being able to console her but we both gave her a few feet of distance until the drugs wore off. she finally just snapped out of it and was back to being ally. shortly thereafter, she ate entire plate of egg noodles (her favorite).

needless to say it was a long, draining day for everyone. i decided that if ally couldn't eat, then mommy really couldn't either, so i think the effects of that were kicking in during the 45 minute melt down for us both - talk about a head ache - geeze. i celebrated with some much needed caffiene :)

i did manage to get us to enjoy the beautiful weather by planning a play date with karyn and the kids. it was nice and i have couple good pictures to share of ally playing with jadyn before surgery. they are like little mini-me's...it is so weird how alike they are.

thanks again for all the support and prayers for our family. they are so very kind and much appreciated. i am hoping the pay-off is HUGE now that ally's ears are fluid-free!

allyson

check out my shirt - yeah, my mom is a rockstar!

ally and her make-shift piano...such a devilish grin!

ally and i playing together...taken by ashley

thanks for all the support, kind words and prayers for ally tomorrow, you are all such wonderful friends.

she is officially going under the influence of "magic gas" at 2-ish...long day to wait it out, but other children before her are having far more dangerous procedures, so we are thankful ally's is so short and less serious.

just a couple of pictures to post of ally that i adore. thought you might enjoy them too.

life in a nutshell...

so, it has been one week since i last posted...and we are still moving on 4 cylinders.

let's see this weekend we visited my parents and family. great-gram rearick was in town visiting, which it was nice to see her now that she lives in florida. also, mom made a turkey dinner in honor of her visit so it was like thanksgiving in april :)

ally discovered strawberry shortcake her new favorite dessert. i took some pics, i will post from home later. she also has been loving elmo lately too. she has an elmo doll that she gives huge hugs and kisses too daily - it is very sweet.

as for keith, he has been actively participating in some office get-togethers. he has been bowling and golfing with some of his co-workers as well as training for the 5k this weekend with me. he seems to enjoy his job and keeps good ties with a few guys from work.

and lastly me...i just finished putting together a 50 minute presentation for the annual mini-covention here at slippery rock. it was a lot of work for 50 minutes, but well worth the young minds i touched. plus the topic was coaching - which i have a lot of experience with from years of doing it. needless to say, i am glad it is over.

as for the family - this weekend we will be going to be laying low...it has been a hectic few weekends and we just need a small break to re-group. ashley is joining us for the weekend to help with ally on race day. and ally will be competing in the trot tot - about 60 yards of all sprinting with her friend jadyn. i will be sure to take pictures so everyone can see miss ally's first ever race.

on tap for tomorrow is the dreaded surgery for ally. i am not sure the exact time because i am playing phone tag with the nurse - i am assuming early morning which would be perfect so that we can enjoy the beautiful spring day tomorrow we have been promised once she has recovered!

5 simple rules to being HAPPY

A Donkey Story

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well.
The jackass cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.
He invited his neighbors to come over and help him. They each grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down.
A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.
As the farmer and his neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!
Life is going to shovel dirt on you, lots of dirt!
The trick to getting along well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up!
Shake it off and take a step up.

Remember the 5 simple rules to being happy:
Free your heart from hatred - Forgive.
Free your mind from worries - Most never happen.
Live simply and appreciate what you have.
Give more.
Expect less


And there you have it...simply stated. I need this reminder, as Keith and I embark on the summer without a paycheck from job transitioning and a possible move again.

i almost....

wore shorts today!

it was so warm i could have worn them, but i was afraid to take my chances. this is a hard concept for most to understand, but spring is usually non-existent in PA these days. it just kind of blends in with summer. today was one of the nicest spring days, with baby blue skies, warm temps and bright sunshine all day long.

needless to say, ally, the bears and i all shared an evening of fun in the sun. my only wish would be for my allergies to lay low at this time of year-grr!

what is to come...

so many of you have been asking about future career moves for me and i have to say that part of the reason that i have been a little neglectful in writing is due to the many applications i have been organizing. mailing and setting up interviews.
i just recently turned down an interview for a head coaching position at a premiere high school. it was a hard decision professionally, but the best one for me personally.
keith and i have a personal agenda item for this year which is to get pregnant with our second child. in which we are targeting late summer. i need time to soak in my next new teaching job, the idea of two little ones and coaching would just be another added stress i don't need right now. someday again...but more so than that i am hoping to coach ally in youth sports first. i feel i have given a lot of my time to others, now i would like to work with my own.
who knows what is to become of me in the next few months, as much as i am planner, hanging in the balance is okay with me too.

i almost forgot...

another 5k to train for...yep, i am addicted!

this one is on a trail (finally!) and i am recuriting keith. this one has a short turnaround time, it is only 2 weeks away. i guess i need to start cracking my whip again! details to follow...

spring has sprung!

birds chirping, longs walks, laughter from children playing, and cool treats...it was a wonderful family and friend weekend. janice popped into town with her two boys and karyn had us all over for dinner and drinks -- it was fantastic! sunday we spent the day outside with ally and the bears soaking up every last minute of the sunshine!

this weekend brought a lot into perspective for me. i guess the change in seasons does that in a very passive way. i am glad to no longer have to layer up myself and ally before leaving home as well as a nice clean car for long rides to work and back.

on tap this week...projects to return (that i haven't finished grading), keith finishing up classes for the semester, a few nice days of weather to spend outside, and a visit from my grandmom rearick who lives in florida now.

oh, those ears...

unfortunately, we found out on monday that ally will have tubes put in her ears on april 17. i finally made an appointment with children's hospital, ENT department this past monday. it has been way overdue, not sure why i waited so long, i guess the same reasons most parents wait it out, but now that it is officialy scheduled and ally will no longer have ear infection after ear infection - i am ok with it all.
it is a quick process for these little ones - only 5 minutes, but the fact that she will be under some powerful drugs makes me a little uneasy.
we are asking that everyone say a little prayer that all will be ok and that little miss allyson will be better off with tubes which will drain out the fluid.

other than that, ally is full of life and a blast to hang with. she is picking up something new everyday and never ceases to amaze keith and i. tonight we played house in her kitchen and fed her baby dolls -- i remember dreaming of the day that i could interact with her like this and it is finally here, so i am all about soaking it up while i can!