adventures of bug and buddy

hilarious!

2012-02-28T21:26:00.000-05:00

watch it wiggle, see it jiggle!

making volcanos

2012-02-27T21:10:00.000-05:00

ahhhhh pinterest. my {and im sure most of you} new love! if you are anything like me you spend a LOT of time pinning and not a lot of time doing. so this past week i went back through a lot of my boards that had to do with my kids and deleted a lot of pins. then i actually clicked on the rest of them and went to the site to see if i wanted to do any of the pinned things! imagine that. :) one of the things that i pinned forever ago was this one about making mini volcanoes.

so we got all the stuff {baking soda, vinegar and food coloring!} and started playing!

look at that sweet face, she loved it!

peanut butter

2012-02-27T19:57:00.000-05:00

we were playing outside this weekend at my moms making peanut butter bird-feeders. little man got into the peanut butter :)

*i think he likes it!

future ? for my bug

2012-02-25T20:58:00.002-05:00

future questions for my bug!

What do you like to dream about?
What is your best memory this school year?
Who is your hero? Why?
How would you describe your family?
If you could change anything about yourself, what would it be?
What are you most proud of yourself for?
Who is the kindest person you know? Why?
What do you like most about your best friend?
What is one thing you would like to learn to do well?
If you were an animal what one would you be and why?
When is the last time someome hurt your feelings? How did you react?
Do you know someone who is going though a hard time? How can you help them?
What is the scariest thing that happened this year?
If you could keep only one thing, out of everything you have, what would it be?
Who do you think is really successful? Why?
What’s the best thing about your teacher this year?
When do you feel misunderstood by grown-ups?
What three words best describe you?
What’s something that makes you angry?
What’s the best compliment you ever received?

21 things to ask your kids

2012-02-25T20:46:00.001-05:00

as seen on pinterest :)

2012

1. What is something Mommy always says to you?
Maggie: I love you

2. What makes Mommy happy?
Maggie: hugs and kisses

3. What makes Mommy sad?
Maggie: when maggie wont play with me

4. How does Mommy make you laugh?
Maggie: tickles

5. What was Mommy like as a child?
Maggie: blondish reddish hair, same skin and lived at grandmas!

6. How old is Mommy?
Maggie: 25

7. How tall is Mommy?
Maggie: 47 inches

8. What is Mommy's favorite thing to do?
Maggie: go to the beach with maggie

9. What does Mommy do when you're not around?
Maggie: stay home and think about me

10. If Mommy becomes famous, what will it be for?
Maggie: being the best mommy

11. What is Mommy really good at?
Maggie: helping grandmas

12. What is Mommy not very good at?
Maggie: handwriting

13. What does Mommy do for her job?
Maggie: nothing

14. What is Mommy's favorite food?
Maggie: bananas

15. What makes you proud of Mommy?
Maggie: when i help grandma

16. If Mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Maggie: Peppa Pig

17. What do you and Mommy do together?
Maggie: hug and kiss and swing

18. How are you and Mommy the same?
Maggie: we do some of the same things together

19. How are you and Mommy different?
Maggie: sometimes we dont do what each other wants to do

20. How do you know Mommy loves you?
Maggie: bc you tell me every day

21. Where is Mommy's favorite place to go?
Maggie: the beach

2012-02-20T09:08:00.001-05:00

what a difference a year makes :)

the blessing of friends

2012-02-19T20:32:00.000-05:00

so a few weeks back a bunch of amazing friends and our awesome family came over and helped clean my mom and dads house. a few weeks before the big day, i was cleaning under the sink and i felt the Lord speak to me and tell me that it was time to ask for help. for those of you who dont know,my mom is really sick. she has stage 4 breast cancer that has metastasized to her bones. my dad is her primary care taker. i wanted to give them a sense of peace in their home and freedom to just be and spend time together rather than always be stressed out and worried about the house. my mom has a hard time just getting around and taking care of herself so i didnt want her to have to worry about the house! here are some awesome before and after pics! more of the basement to come!thanks again to everyone who helped makes this project a reality!

christmas morning 2011

2012-02-18T12:49:00.002-05:00

christmas morning! a little bit late but better than never :)

bug having a dance party!

2012-02-18T12:22:00.000-05:00

this girl loves to dance! check out her hand moves!

3 day walk - the history of moms group

2012-01-26T16:39:00.000-05:00

Krista's TaTa Sisterhood

The Growing Process That Became KRISTA'S TA-TA SISTERHOOD 2007!

Told by Bobbie:

Towards the end of 2006 Becky (Krista’s sister in law) told our office in the morning meeting that Krista's cancer was back! After 10 years of being cancer free Krista & David got the news no one wants to hear. The cancer was back not in her breast this time but in her rib, spine, hip & pelvis. In our office we all think of each other as family, so Becky kept us all up to date on Krista's condition because now Krista, David and her family would now be a part of our family.

In January the TV ads for Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk had everyone thinking that this could be any one of our family or us. A few of us said, “you know I've always wanted to do that walk but I just don't want to do it by myself”. As January rolled into February, the mass mail for The 3-Day walk came to several of our mail boxes. Lynda brought her copy to work, then Crystal sent off for info. We were all still thinking, “yea right, can't you see us walking 60-miles”!

At the end of February, Dr. C, our boss, announced in the morning staff meeting that our office would be closed the week of October 15th. We all looked shocked because we knew the walk was October 12th to the 14th and our office would be closed that next week for us to recuperate. Crystal said this is a sign we have to walk.

So on Thursday March 1, 2007 Crystal Condon ~ Team Captain, Becky Carron, Teresa Jones and Bobbie Smith signed up for the 3-Day walk and became Krista's Ta-Ta Sisterhood Team. Dr. C let us put posters up in the office and our friend Lynda gave us our 1st donation (I think she felt sorry for us) toward our goal of raising $2200.00 each so we could walk IN HONOR OF KRISTA GIBBS our heart and soul sister for LIFE. Lynda, Shannon and Lisa cheered us on as we got donations and moved our stars closer to our goal.

We all worked hard to get our donations in different ways. Crystal had a yard sale and baked a 1000 brownies and cookies for her husband to sale at his school. Teresa hit all the businesses around Jefferson and in the end Dr. C and Mike Carron from Mike's Grill split the small difference she needed to reach her goal. Becky had help from her husband Nick, he sent out emails to everyone at his office and her other donations came from the love of her family and friends who all know Krista. As for me (Bobbie) if I sent you a Christmas card the year before, you got a letter from me asking for your help. My husband Rick sent emails to all the reps for his company and I went to Gibson Dental Lab in Gainesville and received alot of help from Darryl, Alvin, Don, Wayne, Shelia, April and many others. By July all 4 team members had reached the goal that is needed to give you clearance to walk the 3-Day.

I walked on the treadmill and at The Outlet Mall in Commerce, Crystal walked all over her neighborhood, but found out she was pregnant and her doctor's would only let her walk 5 miles each day on the 3-day walk which I know was very disappointing to her. Beck & Nick walked every night and Teresa walked with her husband Brian.

The closer the walk got the fear of the unknown was very hard to deal with. We didn't know what to pack or how much to pack because the weather was cold one week and hot the next week.

So Thursday afternoon before the walk Me ma & Pepa put Becky, Teresa and myself and about 300 pounds of gear (that's what it looked like) in the car and took us to our
Hotel at Northpoint Mall. Kevin brought Crystal so he could go out to dinner with us that night and it's a good thing because I don't think the car could hold any more luggage! We had a great dinner that night with Krista, David, Me ma, Pepa, Kevin, Crystal, Teresa, Becky and myself. That was a gift from Me ma & Pepa in thanks for us walking for Krista.

We awoke the next morning around 5:00 a.m. and all we wanted was coffee!!! We got ready and waited for the shuttle bus to take us to Northpoint Mall for the Opening Ceremony and yes it was cold. Thank God we had put pink feather boas around our necks because that kept us warm, but by lunch we were molting. We each walked to our comfort level and then some went back to camp or would walk a few miles catch the sweep van and we would meet up at the next pit stop. At the end of the day I was so glad to see Becky, Teresa and Crystal had our tents up, but then that meant it was shower time and the fear of the great unknown set in. We had no ideal what to expect but after using Port-a pottys all day how bad could this be. They had tractor trailer's set up with 8 stalls and small shower curtains, but by then you were so tired and felt dirty that you just did not care. We ate dinner and went back to our tents in hopes of a good nights sleep. WRONG! Becky had to get up around 2 or 3 a.m. to use the port-a potty and fell out of the tent. I think we woke everyone up laughing. Then it took us 20 minutes to figure out how to zip the tent up. Crystal being pregnant was up and down all night with her own trips to the port-a potty. We awoke the next morning to FROST on our tents and suitcases that we left outside and Teresa kept telling Becky to turn the heat up, but by lunch we were molting again.

Teresa, Becky & I got so cold Friday night that Kevin picked both of them and Crystal up and went to Target to buy us warm pj's. When I walked into camp that night Becky, Teresa & Crystal had pulled sleeping bags out of the tents (it was hot in them by then) pulled them up on a hill in the shade and took a nap. We had our showers, ate dinner and stayed at the dinner tent for about 30 minutes and then we went back to our tents and talked about the ups & downs of the walk, but mostly we laughed together for hours and then it's lights out at 9:00. We bundled up in all our clothes to stay warm. Becky & I stuffed the clothes we would wear the next day in the bottom of our sleeping bags so they would be warm the next morning. Again WRONG it's hard to change when you can't stand up or don't want to get our from under the covers. We packed up all our luggage for the final day and it didn't matter what went in which suitcase the object was to just stuff it in and get your tent down (of course we didn't listen to the instructions on how to do that). For some reason the tent in that little pink bag didn't look like it did when we pulled it out.

They put us on buses and took us to our final day of walking. We would be walking down Peachtree Ind. Blvd to Buckhead and then to Peachtree Street and then into Piedmont Park for closing ceremonies. Crystal & I walked in together at the end. We all got our victory shirts and started to line up for the victory walk. That's when the tears begin and they don't stop no matter who you are. When you see older , middle age and young girls & men in pink survivor shirts your heart lets you know why you just walked 60 miles!

Becky, Teresa, Crystal & I had a sign painted by my mom that said KRISTA'S TA-TA SISTERHOOD MOTEL NO VACANCY TO CANCER! We carried this into closing ceremonies. I did fine until I looked up and on the hill standing on a cooler was our heart and soul sister Krista that's when you can't stop the tears if you wanted to. To see how proud she was of the 4 of us for walking for her will be in my heart and mind forever. After we walked in the cancer survivors that walked came in and we all held up 1 tennis shoe to show our support and dedication we had for them. Then the crew walked in behind them and we just passed tissue's all around the group because there were no dry eyes where we stood.

After the ceremony was over David had packed us a cooler of very refreshing drinks that we had requested if we walked. Thank you Nick for driving us girls home, stopping when we needed a real restroom and helping Kevin with our luggage. Thanks to Mema & Pepa for the snacks, chairs and hugs & kisses we all needed. Thanks to Kevin for cheering us on and helping to get our 300 pounds of luggage. But forever in my memory will be the LOVE David shows to Krista as they fight this battle together. To my sisterhood Becky, Teresa and Crystal we could not have done this without each other. To Krista my heart and soul sister I will sign up and walk the 2008 3-Day walk again in your HONOR because you put everyone first and never think of yourself or show your pain. You give everyone the inspiration to go on and live life to the fullest. I pledge to you I will walk if you will fight! My Love to you and your family, Bobbie

part 2

2012-01-23T16:38:00.000-05:00

Chapter 2

Told by Krista:

That night after we got home we had to make the calls to the parents, I let David (My Husband) do it. I wasn't capable. I can remember calling my Mom in Savannah and the only word I could get out of my mouth was ~ Mom, after that I cried and David talked to everyone.

The next morning we went to the Surgeon's office and met one of my favorite Drs. His name is Victor Pavamani and his nurse is Nancy. They were so wonderful to us, (and still are) explained everything, all of the options for surgical procedures. I had what apeared to be mirror image lumps in both breasts and we decided on lumpectomies and node removal for testing. After alot of discussion with the Dr we decided to schedule the operation for January 3rd, it was 2 weeks away and would not make that much difference in my health, but cancer surgery right at Christmas was more than we wanted us or the rest of the family to handle.

Shortly after all of this we left for Savannah for Christmas, gosh it was hard to face my Mom, but she is so strong. My parents were born and raised in the midwest and have that very "we can handle/face anything" attitude. I can remember her saying that it would be okay and my Dad saying not to worry he had already spoken to God and it would all be fine so there was nothing to worry about. My daughter Erin, was strong (like always) and David's family was wonderful.

It's really funny, I don't remember that much about how the holidays went after that. My brain just skips to right after Christmas, telling the office about the next steps in my care and the surgery on January 3. I had the lumpectomys the left side was positive for cancer along with 3 out of 12 nodes. The right side was negative. My Dr was so sure that the right side was positive that I later had a needle locator biopsy on that same side and he sent the tissue off to a different lab just to be sure, but Thank God it was only positive on the left side.

Once I was healed from the surgery it was off to meet my Medical Oncologist, Dr Freedman, there was a question of radiation first then Chemo or the opposite, since I had to have both, but we decided on Chemo first. I can remember 2 things very specifically that he told me, 1. Except for the Cancer you are very healthy,that works in your favor, and 2. We are going to make you very sick in order to make you better. He then asked me when did I want to start? I said how about right now ~ so that was my first treatment. So pretty much in one month I went from not even knowing I had cancer to being diagnoised, having surgery, beginning chemo and oh yeah ~~ 10 days later my hair fell out.

the beginning

2012-01-22T16:37:00.000-05:00

Chapter 1

Told by Krista:

It was December 17, 1996, a couple of girls I worked with ~ Carole and Jeanelle talked me into going with them to get Mammograms. I had had them in the past but like most women had canceled a couple of appointments. We scheduled them at the Women's Wellness at DeKalb General which is about 15 minutes from the County Courthouse where I worked. Well, we all had the tests and they asked if I would wait a couple of minutes, I did, then they asked me to come back in for additional films. I didn't think anything of it at the time and they gave me no clue that there was anything wrong.

We left and drove back to the office, like I said, a 10 ~ 15 minute drive and there was a message already on my desk to call my Doctor. I called and they asked me to come in right away, the Doctor needed to see me and it would probably be a good idea to bring my husband ~ fear is beginning to creep in.

We saw the Doctor about 5:30 that evening, he told me I had breast cancer and that he had made an appointment for me to see a surgeon the following morning. I remember being devastated, wondering how bad it was and of course ~ was I going to die? That couldn't happen to me, I had a daughter I wanted to see grow up, get married, have children, a husband I wanted to grow old with, 2 stepsons still in high school, parents, in - laws, other family and friends ~ a host of things I wanted to do with my life.

I remember walking out of the Doctor's office, bursting into tears and telling my husband, "Its not supposed to happen to me, its supposed to be you". I didn't say it to be mean, I said it because he has cancer on both sides of his family and we have always kind of joked that with his family it isn't if they will get it but what kind they will get and when they will get it. Then we went home and continued with the worst night of my life ~~ telling the family.

he holds her purse

2012-01-21T16:31:00.001-05:00

this is an old post from my moms old blog. we arent updating that blog anymore but some of the posts are worth reposting. this is one of them. its from october 2009

Dad, OB, David. Thanks for holding moms purse over the years. You are the best :) We love you!!

Will he hold your purse?

"Everything I know about marriage I learned in my cancer clinic." I've been known to say this to my friends, maybe more than once, maybe even causing some of them to grind their teeth and grumble about Robin and Her Infernal Life Lessons.

I can't help myself. I've worked as a breast cancer doctor for 20 years, I've watched thousands of couples cope with every conceivable (and sometimes unimaginable) kind of crisis, and I've seen all kinds of marriages, including those that rise like a beacon out of the scorched-earth terror that is a cancer clinic.

It's a privilege to witness these couples, but the downside is I find myself muttering under my breath when my single female friends show me their ads for online dating. "Must like long walks on beach at sunset, cats," they write, or "French food, kayaking, travel." Or a perennial favorite: "Looking for fishing buddy; must be good with bait." These ads make me want to climb onto my cancer doctor soapbox and proclaim, "Finding friends with fine fishing poles may be great in the short term. But what you really want to look for is somebody who will hold your purse in the cancer clinic."

It's one of the biggest take-home lessons from my years as an oncologist: When you're a single woman picturing the guy of your dreams, what matters a heck of lot more than how he handles a kayak is how he handles things when you're sick. And one shining example of this is how a guy deals with your purse.

I became acquainted with what I've come to call great "purse partners" at a cancer clinic in Waltham. Every day these husbands drove their wives in for their radiation treatments, and every day these couples sat side by side in the waiting room, without much fuss and without much chitchat. Each wife, when her name was called, would stand, take a breath, and hand her purse over to her husband. Then she'd disappear into the recesses of the radiation room, leaving behind a stony-faced man holding what was typically a white vinyl pocketbook. On his lap. The guy -- usually retired from the trades, a grandfather a dozen times over, a Sox fan since date of conception -- sat there silently with that purse. He didn't read, he didn't talk, he just sat there with the knowledge that 20 feet away technologists were preparing to program an unimaginably complicated X-ray machine and aim it at the mother of his kids.

I'd walk by and catch him staring into space, holding hard onto the pocketbook, his big gnarled knuckles clamped around the clasp, and think, "What a prince."

I've worked at cancer clinics all around Boston since then, and I've seen purse partners from every walk of life, every age and stage. Of course, not every great guy accompanies his wife to her oncology appointment every day -- some husbands are home holding down the fort, or out earning a paycheck and paying the health insurance premiums -- but I continue to have a soft spot for the pocketbook guy. Men like him make me want to rewrite dating ads from scratch.

zoo with friends

2012-01-01T18:50:00.000-05:00

man what a beautiful day. we had an awesome day out with some friends. these little girls are such buddies but since one of them is now in kindergarten and i am not working anymore they dont get to see each other much as they did when they were in school together at buckhead church.

the animals were all out today because it was a little chilly and overcast. since we live way way far north we dont usually plan a day out to the zoo unless the weather is perfect, warm and sunny. well the animals dont like that, so if you are looking for a good zoo day go when its chilly and overcast or even a little rainy and you will see them all!

the crew sans one little girl :)

these babies are only 6 months old!

goats love to eat christmas tress! who knew?

here is bella brushing bella the goat :)

sweet friends!

happy new year

2011-12-31T20:40:00.000-05:00

so christian and i were just saying how calm things are now and how our new years have changed over the years and now we are just having a quiet night at home with our kids until....

william had other plans.

he got into the paints that i left in the trash from when sissy was painting earlier.

happy new year to you and yours

Yellow River Game Ranch

2011-12-30T19:22:00.000-05:00

When we go to grandmas house we sometimes stop by the Yellow River Game Ranch because it is right down the street. Here are some awesome pics from our last visit.

i dont know if you can tell but there were about 20 deers in this pic.

hilarious, they were both trying to get food.

he was SO good with the rabbits.

we stayed in the rabbit area for about 45 mins and he was very gentle.

im pretty sure the little rabbit on the left was not feeling well :(

cute kids!

dirty feet!

*these are pics from my old iphone 3gs and are unedited. pretty good huh?

cant wait to see what my iphone 4 does :)

Elf on the Shelf

2011-12-29T19:07:00.000-05:00

To Elf or not to Elf that was the question for me this year.

I had heard about the Elf on the Shelf last year and was really confused about what it even was, it seemed a bit strange. Once I learned what it actually was I thought ok thats cute but is it for us? Not sure. Well then one night while we were over at my moms house the movie "Elf on the Shelf" came on T.V. and we watched it. Ooops. Now we had to get our elf and we had to have a girl elf.

So I was on a mission. I ordered our girl Elf - to the tune of over $40! off Amazon - and she was on her way from the North Pole to the Ritter household.

She arrived at our house a little late in December but my daughter didn't know, she was just excited she finally came! She named her Tori and we were off! I had been scouring Pinterest and Facebook for ideas for this little elf and was a little distraught that almost all of the ideas involved said elf being devious, making a mess and then getting in trouble. I kept thinking why in the world would I have this elf come to my house, watch over my child to make sure she is being good and then have her make messes and then put the elf in time out? Not to mention make messes that I then have to clean up! Don't we moms already have enough to do?

So our elf just did sweet fun things.

She turned the milk blue and left Maggie a sweet note:

Seeing my daughters reaction to the blue milk was AWESOME!

She watched over Maggie one night after she had nightmares the night before!

Then she complimented Maggie on her homemade ornaments!

The note said:

Dear Maggie,
I love your ornaments. Way to go!

My favorite is the purple peace one! Love Tori

She cleaned out Maggie's stocking to get it ready for Christmas:

Tori followed us to Grandmas house!

And wrote her another note! This time it was elf sized! {Maggie had commented that Tori had messy handwriting and I told her when she uses a big pen or pencil from our house its hard to write, so she wrote this note from the North Pole and brought it back}

It said:

Dear Maggie. Just a little note to let you know,

I'm with you everywhere you go!

XOXO Tori!

Once I saw that I started thinking hum, how can I make this a spiritual lesson for Maggie? While Christmas and presents are awesome, I didn't want to miss out on the real reason behind the season!

If Maggie will believe that a stuffed elf can come to life and follow her to grandmas house then surely I can somehow apply this to God!

So the last two nights Tori was planning to bring the message of Jesus to Maggie.

The first way was a tiny elf sized painting for Maggie.

Maggie is really into peace signs so Tori made her this:

and the last night she was with us she wrote Maggie another letter.

Dear Maggie,

I have so loved spending time with you this year. Watching you everyday has been a joy! Santa and all of my elf friends are so proud of you. You were born into an amazing family.

Always remember that. Even when you and mommy or daddy are mad at each other,

they will always love you no matter what!!

I wanted to remind you that even though presents are AWESOME Christmas is really about Jesus. Remember that God sent Jesus to earth a long,

long time ago to live so that he would know how we feel about everything.

So when you are sad, mad, scared, happy or anything Jesus knows exactly how you feel!

And when you put all your trust in Him you will have such an amazing life!

Did you know that if it wasn't for God and Jesus me and Santa wouldn't have jobs?

You know how I was always with you this month, watching over you and protecting you?

Well Jesus does that everyday all day all year long!

Today is my last day with you. I go back to the North Pole with Santa tomorrow - Ill see you next year but just remember, even though you can't see Jesus - like you could see me -

He is ALWAYS with you.

Merry Christmas

XOXO
Tori

PS Jesus will help you with your bad dreams. Just pray to him about them.

I hope that my daughter had fun and learned a little more about the real reason behind Christmas. How did you elf this year?

sweet hallie went to be with Jesus

2011-12-26T16:02:00.004-05:00

please continue to be in pray for her family as they lay her to rest

and celebrate her short but powerful life!

you can visit her family here

hallie ~ the christmas miracle

2011-12-23T17:57:00.001-05:00

so you may or may not already know about sweet hallie green. if you do then you have already been blessed by her little life. if not let me tell you an awesome story.for me it actually all began about 3 years ago when i came across a blog about a little girl named copeland. she was born with trisomy 18 - a birth disorder.

my daughter was only about 10 months when i found out about copeland and i followed her little life every day until the Lord decided to take her home. well little did i know my friend katie was also following this blog. what is it about new moms and blogs about sick babies? i think some of us become obsessed. obsessed with praying for these babies and their families and i think ultimately just being grateful for our own healthy children and wondering how in the world these moms are surviving knowing that their precious babies will eventually pass away.

fast forward to early this year. i started volunteering in the preschool environment at my church after i stopped working in 2010. i was very excited to have this time with my adult friends. being home with a new baby is awesome but a girl needs to talk to someone who does more than babble!

i was excited that the girls i would be working with were my two katies. two women i already loved but didnt get to see enough. both of these women have daughters close in age to mine so we see each other often but usually only at birthday parties for the kids, never enough time to actually talk about girl stuff that doesnt involve our kids!

and then this spring katie g. told us. she was pregnant and this time with another precious baby girl. but this time her baby girl had some challenges, she has trisomy 13. while this is different than baby copeland it is similar enough that her little baby girl had a limited future. how does one process this information? how do you wake up everyday and know that the little life you are carrying will only be with you briefly if even at all. well my friend katie did this with the utmost grace. not that everyday was easy, but she tried to see the joy in everyday. especially once her little bean started to kick, those moments were precious, i think even more intimate and special for her than with her first two.

it was an honor to be able to spend time with katie and little hallie all those months she was in her mommies belly. hallie is now here, she was born on december 19th. and she is still here. she is 6 days old. and every day she is here is a miracle. her mom and dad were not even sure she would survive her birth, well she did! and she is still fighting.

she is a miracle. a miracle not just for her mom and dad but for the thousands - yes i said thousands - of people who are following her little life. she has her own facebook page! as of right now she has 3,030 fans!

as many people have said "its not a coincidence that there is a little baby born at Christmas that is drawing us all closer to God". go to their blog, follow their story and be touched. be touched by baby hallie, her mom, dad and sweet sisters and ultimatley be touched by God.

photobooth with my mom and dad

2011-12-15T21:30:00.000-05:00

sometimes in the midst of sickness you just have to laugh or you will go crazy!

santa

2011-12-13T23:34:00.002-05:00

the boys

2011-12-07T20:21:00.001-05:00

so we went to see santa this past tuesday and after we played at the playground.

here are our beautiful boys enjoying the fun!

man i have some cute kids!

2011-12-03T22:31:00.000-05:00

other familes

2011-11-22T23:10:00.001-05:00

ive been taking a few pics of some of my friends and their families this fall. still such a learning curve with me and my camera but hey im pressing on. enjoy some of my faves!

i love him

2011-11-15T14:07:00.001-05:00

sweet friends

2011-11-06T21:16:00.000-05:00

bug finally has a friend at school! if you have been following along this school year you know she has had a really hard time adjusting to everything. she does not seem to be big on change and going from her school where she started at 8 weeks old and knows everyone to knowing no one was really hard for her. but thankfully she has made a friend. she and her friend had a play date after school last week!

yeah for friends!

my babies

2011-11-06T20:57:00.000-05:00

taylor

2011-11-05T13:51:00.000-04:00

and here is my beautiful taylor swift in all her glory!

pascal

2011-11-02T18:48:00.002-04:00

halloween this year was so fun with two babies to dress up! bug wanted to be rapunzel all year so we planned on dressing buddy up as pascal. if you havent seen tangled then you may not know who this is but he is rapunzels chameleon friend.

this is what he looks like in real life:

he and rapunzel are the best of friends - seeing as she lives in a tower and doesn't know anyone else, except mean mother gothel. anyway, bug changed her mind and decided to be taylor swift so buddy was pascal all by himself. but he sure does make a cute chameleon!

can you see the drip of drool?

look at those sweet little teeth!

beauty post 10000000

2011-10-31T21:30:00.002-04:00

again i know i always say this but wow, she is amazing.

me, mom and maggie

2011-10-24T10:18:00.002-04:00

me and my favorite girls!

maggie at fernbank

2011-10-16T15:17:00.005-04:00

did you go to fernbank when you were little?
if so, nothing much has changed in the sensing nature exhibit. remember the colored shadows?
well bug loved them! here she is pretending like she is a rock star on stage!

buddy and fernbank

2011-10-16T08:45:00.005-04:00

we took the kids to fernbank yesterday to see the astronomy exhibit. well we got there at 2:30 and the exhibit closes at 2. yeah me for planning well. anyway. we made the most of it and just played. it was a great day to be there bc it was beautiful outside so the museum was very empty! we went to the nature walk exhibit and just let the kids play and explore. these pics of buddy are so precious. he loved it!

he was so happy i thought his face would literally erupt from smiling!

the joy of discovery!

2011-10-15T22:51:00.004-04:00

we took the kiddos to fernbank today. this is buddy seeing a fake rock for the first time.
oh the joys of first discovery. i thought he was going to explode he was so happy!
more awesome pics of him to come!!

beauty

2011-10-15T20:35:00.002-04:00

i must have at least 10 blog posts entitled beauty. but nothing else really describes her :)

more beach! ~ the william AKA buddy episode

2011-10-15T20:20:00.004-04:00

my dad and my son!

on the way to the beach! buddy and his first cracker :)

hanging with his OB

jumping!

buddy got sick while we were at the beach! :( poor baby!

my step brother chad is the baby whisperer. he loves my kids! this was a daily occurrence!

bug and the beach

2011-10-10T20:22:00.010-04:00

for those of you who are friends with me on facebook, you have seen these - maybe :) for everyone else enjoy some pics from our time at the beach!

this time was precious to us because, as you know my mom - who is living with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer that has metastasized in her bones - was with us this whole week!

what awesome memories for me and of course my bug who loves her grandmother!

i know i am biased but shes beautiful!

mom at the beach! so pretty!

bottle feeding a sick kitty that my step brother and his wife brought with them to the beach

we dug a little pool in the sand for buddy!

my mom and her best buddy jodi, who by the way goes to every wednesday chemo treatment with my mom!

bug running on the beach!

fishing for the 1st time!

random pics of buddy man

2011-10-03T22:14:00.006-04:00

first tooth

hug you sissy

handsome!

no more bubbles sissy!

first day of school with sissy, cant wait til the end of the year to see how much they change!

bath time!

mommy playing with her camera!

bubble goatee!

black beans ~ a face only a mom could love!

my dad and my son

2011-10-03T22:11:00.002-04:00

nothing makes me happier than seeing my dad with my kids. he loves them so well!

sweet baby b

2011-09-25T09:39:00.008-04:00

one of my sweet friends just had her second baby, and in my continuing efforts to learn more about photography i went to see her and her sweet baby boy this past friday. he is only 9 days old and tiny! he weighs maybe 7lbs. enjoy these sweet pics.

i would also love your opinion on them. good, not good, what you like and dont like about them. come on out and tell me. would love your constructive criticism :)

i think i have the aperture thing down but lighting continues to be my weak spot.

i just love this pic

2011-09-23T21:36:00.001-04:00

for some reason i just love this picture!

beauty

2011-09-23T21:24:00.008-04:00

more fair

2011-09-23T21:21:00.002-04:00

here are a few more pics from the fair last week!

the fair

2011-09-19T09:25:00.000-04:00

ive been playing around with my camera a lot this past week trying to finally learn it. we went to the fair twice this weekend! if you have been reading this blog for a while or know my daughter at all you know she LOVES the big jumpy thing where they harness you in!

the man working the ride taught her how to throw herself back so she could flip over. once she got it, she GOT IT and did about 30 flips in a row. pure joy!!!

here are a few pics that i was able to get. i am pretty excited about them, they turned out really good, at least to me they did. the only thing i did to edit them is crop them a bit bc i didnt have a zoom.

enjoy!

im linking up with life made lovely!

pure joy

2011-09-18T15:41:00.002-04:00

brave girl went on the tree hopper, its like the adult free fall ride. she loved it! these pictures are total pure joy!

bubbles!

2011-09-12T08:25:00.001-04:00

today is my first time linking up to life made lovely. today is all about making life lovely, even out of little simple things. so my post for today is my little man in his bubble bath! this is special to me bc he is such a joy and this was the first time he was able to play in the bubbles like his big sister!!

i miss summer already - and it isnt even over!

2011-09-12T08:21:00.004-04:00

wordless wednesday

2011-09-07T12:29:00.001-04:00

bugs locker and desk at school

2011-08-26T22:48:00.009-04:00

so sweet, here she is at her little locker/cubby

i cant wait until the end of the year to see how much they have both changed!

look how proper she looks! too bad im sure it didnt last past this picture :)

first day of pre-k

2011-08-26T21:09:00.006-04:00

this past monday was bugs first day of pre-k. as you can tell we had fun that morning. but seriously where did she learn all those poses and can someone please find her an agent!

bug and her bestie

2011-08-23T11:42:00.001-04:00

here is a pic of bug and her best friend. she never gets to see her now that the girls have gone separate ways for school. hopefully we can plan some play dates soon!

just some pics

2011-08-23T11:38:00.002-04:00

just some cute pics of the dudder from a while ago when we were at a friends for a play date. my friend joy took these with her cell phone! crazy good quality!

the shirt skirt!

2011-08-07T12:54:00.006-04:00

so after 2 days of trying and trying to make this work for a skirt for maggie i finally did it!! now i am hooked. it was not easy - at least for me - but once i got everything figured out on my sewing machine it was :)

first i found this idea here, her skirts are below:

after i tried and tried to figure it out by using her post and the tutorial on shirring from portabellowpixie.typepad.com - the technique that causes the gathering - it still didnt work. so i read through the comments from here and found one who had figured it out. so i went to her blog and asked her to email me. so we emailed back and forth a couple of times and i sent her a pic of my shotty work :) to ask her if she had any opinions.

she sent me this link.

so i tried again. i took the bobbin area of my sewing machine apart and finally figured it out!

basically these are the things i had wrong:

the needle was in backwards :)
the upper thread was upside down on the spool pin
the bobbin tension was not tight enough

once i figured out everything i made this!

i dont have a before and after of this because i was so caught up in trying to figure this out that once i got it i just started sewing! but this used to be a tank top of my moms. i cut the top part off just below the straps - most of the ones you see out there on blogs come from tshirts and all you do is cut it off below the sleeves. then start sewing. thats it!

I LOVE IT!

playing with his toy

2011-08-04T10:10:00.001-04:00

belly laugh

2011-08-03T10:04:00.002-04:00

bug making her brother belly laugh!

jumparoo

2011-08-03T10:03:00.002-04:00

buddy LOVES his jumparoo!

happy birthday to me

2011-08-02T18:58:00.005-04:00

one of my favorite things about facebook :)

cuteness!!

2011-07-29T20:29:00.004-04:00

school pocs 2011

2011-07-29T14:43:00.001-04:00

these pics were taken a few weeks ago. they are bug and buddies school pics for the school year 2011.

this is buds class minus a few babies. thats tori grace and joshua and teachers cara and sara.

23 questions

2011-07-29T10:29:00.004-04:00

i found this website where they gave me 23 ?'s to ask your kids. Here are her 4 year old answers:

23 Questions to Ask Your Kids = July 28, 2011

1. What do you think heaven looks like? clouds and God, kitchen stuff like in our land
2. What does Dad do at work? work and make, help mend machines
3. Who is a person you know that seems the most Christ-like? good guys
4. What do you think your wife (husband) will be like? kind, nice, helpful with the baby
5. If you were going to spend one year on a desert island and could only take three things with you, what would they be? bathing suit, a drink and a towel
6. Who is your favorite aunt or uncle and why do you like him or her so much? aunt mary - shes is nice and grandma - bc she helps me a lot
7. What sounds and smells do you think Joseph and Mary experienced in the stable on Christmas night? barn
8. What is the nicest thing I ever did for you? hug you and kissey
9. When is a time that I hurt your feelings? when i get mad
10. When is a time that you were really mad at me? when you you get in trouble you are mad
11. If people followed the Golden Rule, think of all the things we wouldn’t need. Can you make a list? she didnt understand this question
12. If you could be in a movie that you’ve already seen, which one would it be? Would you be a character that is already in the movie, or would you be one that you would add? icarly, sam
13. How is love different for a Christian couple than it is in the movies? i didnt ask this one :)
14. What is the difference between being smart and being wise? or this one :)
15. What is your favorite outfit? dream big dress
16. What is the hardest part about being (fill in your child’s age)? she's 4 = growing up is hard, sleeping part is hard :: she is having a hard time transitioning from sleeping with me for the part 3 1/2 years to sleeping all night on her own :(
17. What has been your favorite childhood memory? playing with jack :: he is out neighbor
18. When you pray, how do you picture God? brown dress, white rope and a white hat, skin is brown, no beard, gray eyes, medium age like a daddy
19. What is your favorite Bible verse? Why do you like it? i asked her to pick a story in the bible = mary and joseph story the cmas story when jesus was born
20. If you could be an animal for a day, which one would you be? a panda bc they are so cute
21. If you could go in a time machine, what era in history would you like to visit? didnt ask this one
22. What person in history would you like to visit? any person in the whole world = rapunzel
23. What is the most important decision you will ever make? to be happy

fun pics!

2011-07-24T07:53:00.003-04:00

2 of my new favs!

update on buddy

2011-06-28T20:26:00.008-04:00

they say you never take as many pictures of your children as you do of your first. well i beg to differ. and according to my memaw, i dont take enough of the bug anymore. and SO this post is all about buddy. he continues to be the most joyful, easy going baby i have ever seen. he literally only cries when he is hungry or tired. he is a big bundle of love and we couldnt be happier that God chose us to be his family. he is off the charts - literally - in height 27.7 inches and weight 18.9 lbs {this is from 6.8.11}.

the pictures are in reverse order of his age but are in correct order of the most recent happenings. i hope you enjoy them.

i adore this first picture. i took it today. he fell asleep on his play mat, so i moved him to the car bc we were going to the neighborhood pool. rather than put him in his car seat and wake him up i just set him in the front seat sort of curled up in his blanket and off we went the .2 miles :) before he woke up 5 sec later i snapped this shot.

this is his big sissy, he LOVES her. i am and pretty sure the feeling is mutual!

holding his bottle for .00001 milliseconds by himself, but hey its a start!

bud and his little girlfriend, our next door neighbors daughter. she is three weeks older than him.

sweet boy

i have a similar pic of bug. i love when they get to this age of scooting themselves all the way down in things!

love sissy!

chillin in the pool!

look at those lips!

sleepy big boy

happy boy!

more happy!

and i had to post this. i LOVE IT!!

first time in the pool!

why yes, i do have a sister, why do you ask?

buddies!

first time reaching out for things

i love this pic! just chillin with the mom.

he loves his food!

sibling love

handsome little man

another favorite!

cathing up

2011-06-28T19:27:00.004-04:00

again with the busy life. its crazy around these parts with 2 children! our week consists of lots of fun but i am starting to feel a bit like a "soccer" mom. im in the car ALLLLL the time. but its good stuff.

bug has been chosen to be in advanced preschool gymnastics (HOT SHOTS) along with only 7 other girls her age, so we are busy with that 2 days a week for 1.5 hours each time. thats a lot for a 4 year old!

we go to my moms every other weekend and try to have as many play dates as we can.

here are a few pics from the past few weeks.

basement project

2011-06-13T16:21:00.007-04:00

we have been busy around these parts sorry for the lack of posting for those 4 loyal blog readers i have out there!

my most recent project around the house was to organize my corner of the basement. since i left work back in november we have had this corner of the basement where i have let stuff just pile up. things i brought home from work my sewing stuff etc. so i sent bug to my moms and got to cleaning.

here are the before pics:

here are the after pics!

this project only took 2.5 - 3 hours and $24. :)

Spring Show

2011-05-18T19:50:00.003-04:00

This is a video that only family will watch :)

Maggies Spring Show

hey you wanna die together

2011-05-04T22:17:00.002-04:00

Tonight we were talking about Bugs name. Her full name is MaggieMae Grace Ritter - the Mae never took.

Maggie: I just want to be Maggie Grace Ritter.

Me: why don't you like Mae?

Maggie: I just don't.

Me: did you know you were named after your gg grandmother? Her name was Mae? Like buddy is named after pop pop his name is William and my grandpa - the one who died - his name was Thomas.

Maggie: where is my gg grandmother?

Me: she died a long long time ago. She's in heaven with my grandpa and white one - readers that's our cat that died.

Maggie: is your grandpa who died her husband?

Me: no he's her son.

Maggie: hey they get to be together in heaven and can hang out. Hey do you wanna die together?

Me: tears

Um wow

bath time for buddy

2011-05-04T17:38:00.002-04:00

i was looking at some pics of little man to see how much he has grown and found these of him in his little bath tub!

2.9.11

5.2.11

first laugh

2011-05-04T17:18:00.001-04:00

enjoy :)

buddy swinging!

2011-04-30T21:27:00.000-04:00

my little man swinging like a big boy already!!

i LOVE this item. if you have a baby, are pregnant or just have small children you need this item!

yellow river game ranch

2011-04-29T21:22:00.000-04:00

we went to the game ranch the other day. my cousin, alan and his wife, shannon and their kids - sans one of them - met us up there. it is so great having kids the same age as bug in the family!

two peas

2011-04-28T21:19:00.002-04:00

future of things to come?

2011-04-28T21:07:00.000-04:00

thumb

2011-04-26T20:51:00.004-04:00

he has been working on this since he came into this world :) it finally paid off!!

buddy

2011-04-25T20:04:00.006-04:00

as most of you know buddy and bug go to buckhead church for preschool. bug used to go everyday but since i quit working she only goes on thursdays. we never miss and still love it! here are some ADORABLE! pictures buddys teachers took of him the other day. is he not the cutest baby ever!! also FYI we are not calling him liam anymore its buddy or william. thanks!

buddy talking

2011-04-23T17:17:00.002-04:00

HIVES

2011-04-15T20:23:00.003-04:00

have you or any of your kids ever had hives? well bug did. it was the scariest thing!

so here is what happened: she went to her school yesterday, had all the same foods she always has, didnt have any new craft supplies, no new environments etc. after we left school we got in the car and drove for 10 minutes to the store. we got out of the car and i noticed a rash on her back/shoulder area, i looked under her dress and saw another spot so since she got her 4 yr old shots yesterday my first thought was that she was having a reaction to the shots. so i got a little nervous and called the dr. we immediately got back in the car and drove to the closest dr office. by the time we got to the dr her back looked like this:

it took about 5 mins to go back to a room and about 10 to be seen, by the time the dr came in, her front and neck had spots everywhere and it was moving to her face!

i was freaking out! the nurse kept reassuring me that it was just hives and it was fine. but seriously this thing was spreading like kudzu in the summer!

turns out it was just hives, they dont know what caused them but once they gave her benadryl she was fine. she has broken out 4 more times since yesterday. the medicine helps.

ahhhh parenting

great grandma

2011-04-08T16:32:00.003-04:00

buddy is one of the lucky ones! he has 2 great grandmothers!! thats mema on the left and juicy lucy on the right :) also known as grandma lucy!

a few thoughts

2011-04-01T15:01:00.002-04:00

just wanted to write down a few things about buddy so i can remember:

*buddy weights 15 lbs and he is exactly 2 months old today
*he slept 6.5 hours today and did not eat at all during that time, that is a BIG deal for little fatty!
*he is smiling and laughing
*he loves to tap naps at the pool when bug takes her swimming lessons, when in doubt take him to the pool and he is happy
*he continues to be really mellow, he will let me put him down to sleep at night when he is just drowsy - like you are "supposed" to do - and will just hang out and try to find his thumb until he falls asleep --- bug on the other hand would freak out and cry cry cry, he will just hang out by himself on the couch for hours
*still is breastfeeding and formula feeding, doesn't care where the food comes from, he just loves to eat, hence the 15 lbs
*he does not love the paci, he will only tolerate it when he is really tired and you are holding him on your chest. when he is tired he likes to be held with the paci against your chest with a blanket around his back and over his head. perfect recipe for night night

thats all for now :)

laugh or go crazy

2011-04-01T13:22:00.004-04:00

i am sure i am not alone in the experience of both or all of your children crying/screaming at the same time.

bug has a this new thing she does when she is tired, if buddy cries and she is tired she will cry too. but not only will she cry she will scream and pitch a fit. here is a picture i took of both kids the other day when they were both having a melt down. i had to just laugh or i was going to go crazy.

dancing in the car

2011-03-30T16:21:00.001-04:00

bug being funny in the car!

buddy smiling and laughing

2011-03-29T18:41:00.001-04:00

tresure hunt with bug

2011-03-29T17:00:00.000-04:00

me and bug went on a treasure hunt the other day at my moms house. here are all the fun things we found.

funniest 35 sec of your day

2011-03-27T19:14:00.001-04:00

check out my 2 older kiddos dancing. these white kids have NO rhythm!

lazy friends or bad idea?

2011-03-27T18:51:00.002-04:00

so i have decided i either have really bad ideas or really lazy friends. :) see previous post for reference.

shared ideas?

2011-03-20T13:20:00.005-04:00

hi moms and friends who are not yet moms.

i have been thinking a lot lately as i am staying home with the babies about what in the world to do with my kids to entertain them without spending money and spending the entire day in front of the TV. i know some of you dont even have TV so i thought maybe we could all share ideas with each other.

if you follow other blogs that share ideas you have probably seen this thing that i have below, its called MR LINKY. basically the concept is you read my post and then you post about the same topic on your blog and link it here so others can read what you think. then on your blog you link back to this blog so more people can see this post and will link their posts for more ideas!

do you think you would participate if i started one here? comment if you would be interested and ill start one. i want to post about what a typical day looks likes with my kids and then have you do the same. the linky below is just an example you dont need to link in yet :)

these are some of the topics i am thinking of:

what do you do to entertain your kids?
what do you feed your kids? or your family menu for the week?
what are you doing this summer with your kids?

having fun!

2011-03-03T20:33:00.001-05:00

my gorgeous son!

2011-02-28T15:08:00.000-05:00

i know i am biased but how beautiful is this baby!!

baby boy

2011-02-26T15:04:00.003-05:00

bili bed

2011-02-24T19:56:00.003-05:00

as i mentioned on facebook and twitter, liam had a pretty high bilirubin when we were in the hospital. you can see how tan - um yellow - he was in the first pic. so he had to spend some time in his own little "tanning bed". and once we got home we tried to get him in the sun as much as possible!

do you read this blog?

2011-02-22T14:15:00.002-05:00

since we just changed our blog address i am curious who is reading.

can you comment and let me know you are reading??

erin

thumb

2011-02-21T18:24:00.001-05:00

he just found his thumb. wonder if he will be a thumb sucker?

the boys

2011-02-21T10:44:00.000-05:00

nick came to the hospital the day after buddy was born. he was so sweet with him. nick LOVES babies. arent this pictures precious?

faces just like sissy

2011-02-20T10:39:00.004-05:00

looks like little man has a personality just like sissy! {click here}

starting him early

2011-02-19T21:43:00.002-05:00

bug showing buddy some videos on my iphone. she isnt wasting anytime getting him acclimated to her world :)

sweet baby

2011-02-15T19:12:00.001-05:00

siblings!

2011-02-15T18:50:00.006-05:00

bath time with buddy

photobug

sleepy babies

playing with buddy

feeding buddy for the 1st time

sibling love

snow angel

2011-02-13T09:27:00.003-05:00

voices

2011-02-13T09:25:00.001-05:00

bug practicing her voices. as soon as we can i want to get her into acting :)

my daredevil

2011-02-13T09:08:00.001-05:00

burrito

2011-02-08T12:15:00.000-05:00

i was swaddling buddy the other night and said "look bug hes a burrito". and so she wanted me to make her into one too!!