naptime

ahh, my favorite time of the day :-)


Loggie


Ally


Koda

tiny little secret...

ok, so i have been keeping a tiny little secret for about a week now that i figured would be worth sharing today. last week i got the long-awaited phone call. yes, i got an interview with NASH (north allegheny high school) for a full time physical education position. since the phone call, i have spent countless hours working on my portfolio, reading, researching and compiling information for my interview. i have even lost beauty sleep over this tiny little secret i have been keeping on the down low. it has basically consumed all of me.

today at noon, the initial saga will be over, and i can resume my normal life. i have to say it will be a relief, because the pressure has been on since last monday when i frantically wrote down my message about interviewing with NA on june 10th!

it wasn't until keith called a few minutes ago as i was putting the finishing touches on my work that i suddenly realized, a pep talk of sorts that led to the calming of my nerves and the normal rhythm of my heart (gay, but true). he told me two things very simply and it was as if a two ton elephant was lifted from my shoulders. fate. fate has never failed me before and i am quite sure it won't fail me this time. i just need to be me and let the rest take care of itself. very simply stated by my wondeful hubby and best friend. i knew i married that man for a reason!

so, i am off to interview - wish me luck!

boot camp, fun in the sun, and dinner out--some favorites of mine!

it was a chaotic day to say the least, as we kept busy like most saturdays. the best part of this saturday was that it was filled up with a few of my favorite things to do.

EXERCISE -i endured week one of boot camp class at the gym early this morning. the title says it all! i will be sore for a few days post class, since i used some muscles that have been laying low for sometime now. it was very intense and i hope to get more in shape each week as i make it my goal to finish class without burning my muscles out 3/4's of the way through. she said she thinks we burned 600+ calories with our workout, so i am not complaining. we also got to enjoy the dog park today which was fun for the bears b/c they go around sniffing everything in sight and running around like crazed doggies in a huge fenced in area with other four-legged friends. i miss seeing them run free, so this gives me a chance to enjoy their freedom.

RELAXATION -next, we hit the pool. it was about 90 something today so the pool was refreshing and a great follow up to a sweaty workout. ally enjoyed the waterfall mushroom, and having her own space in the kiddie pool. i enjoyed not having to worry so much as i do at the pool at our house. i keep having these nightmares of her falling into the water and me moving in slow motion to save her. almost like my feet are stuck in molasses. it is quite annoying and scary both at the same time. i often wonder if other people dream these obnoxious things or if it is the O.C.D. kicking into high gear, either way i am ready for the girl to either put on those pink floaties she hates for safety purposes, or learn to swim like fish.

FOOD -of course to top off the day, i had a no-cooking night. it was wonderful! we tested out the italian bravo kitchen (similar to a macaroni grill), it was wonderful! i enjoyed my favorite magherita pizza that i have been craving since i left nc. yummy x2!

ALLY -and the very best part of the day was we only encountered 2 temper tantrums today! i am on a roll, lately. there has been a significant drop in ally's daily average, so i am thinking it could be the fact that i lightened up and accepted the fact that they are part of setting boundaries and an even bigger part of parenting. i have chosen to use the igonore and 1-2-3 method...i can't say they work like a charm, but they definitely beat wrestlemania hands-down!

all and all, it was a great day filled with some of my favorites, keith, ally and the bears.

terrible, terrible, terrible two's!

that is not a mistake - that is 'terrible' to the third power for a reason! ally is defnintely at the stage of pushing buttons to the point of no return!

now that we are spending more quality time together, i have soon found out that every little thing from diaper changing, to fastening the car seat has become a daily struggle. my spirit was almost broken yesterday when i thought that i had this big idea to take ally to the neighborhood pool, seeing as though swimming has been one of her new favorite things, i thought this would be a great afternoon activity for us.

i soon found out my big idea was the ultimate power struggle of the day. the struggle started with the removal of clothes, then to sunscreen, then to the swimmer, then to the swimsuit...you get the idea, right? after i burned what seemed to be more calories than in spin class that morning from wrestling ally around we finally made it to the pool. at the pool, we did manage to have some girl time without any problems. after about an hour or so, it was time to go home and start dinner. and the process started all over again...needless to say, by the time keith arrived, it appeared as if none of this even occurred and all was fine and dandy on the ruiz homefront. ha! i wondered how many of us can totally relate to a day like this one? how many of us cook dinner frazzled from a long day of parenting? and how many of us wonder how in the heck we will get through more days like this one?

last night when ally fell asleep, i took a deep breath and cuddled up in my reading chair with my latest parenting book, in hopes to find answers on how to bargain with a soon to be two-year old...as you can see, i am still searching, struggling, and wrestling because the truth is there are no set answers to this chaos! i shall embrace each day with the mindset that this daily chaos is only a phase that too shall pass. oh, and an ice-cold miller lite definitely helps!


happy birthday daddy! hope it was a special day like you.
ps.sorry for all the times i tested your patience as a child, paybacks are no fun.

sex and the city

if you haven't seen this movie yet, you need to get your girlfriends together and indulge in a night of laughs, tears, fashion and a large popcorn. it is well worth the eight or so dollars--you won't be disappointed.

sorry for the delay in my post...i meant to post this earlier, nevertheless - get your fashionista butts to the movies!!

it was a hockey night in pittsburgh--actually detriot but...

the pens pulled off an absolute nail biter to keep their season and their fans spirit alive! it was a triple overtime game with tons of emotion as they battled their way back from a 3-2 deficit with 30 seconds left in regulation. upon scoring the goal, the game regulation time came to a close with a 3-3 score. the first and second overtime was dominated by the redwings, hands down. fleury (our goalie) showed off his athletic skills turning away 43 some shots on goal-it was amazing to watch but nerve-racking as our season hung in the balance. as the third overtime period began dwindling down to 30 seconds, WE pulled off a last minute attack and their was a dink shot made into the goal that brought the hockey fans of pittsburgh alive again!
needless to say, the game was so exciting that we couldn't turn it off so it caused us both to press snooze on the alarm this morning way too many times.



game 6 tomorrow night - this one is in the BURGH at the igloo!
go pens! thanks for not giving up!

can you believe...

can you believe that someday this man will give this little girl away?
when i look at this picture, i can't think of anything else. it is so innocent and pure, it just melts my heart.
who says grown men aren't supposed to cry?
i am glad i was able to catch this one amongst the chaos, it is a keeper for sure.

HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY KODA!!