I'm Soooo Excited!

Tomorrow is going to be a fantastic day! Not only are the Steelers playing in the Superbowl, but more importantly I'm picking up our puppy tomorrow! Isn't she the sweetest? She's a Golden Retriever and is the cutest little thing ever! We're not sure what we're going to name her yet....possibly "Dixie." After I bring her home I will post a better photo for you, and you guys can help me pick out a name!

She's a little "miracle" dog. Her mom became paralyzed at the beginning of the pregnancy. Vets in the area wanted to euthanize the mom and her puppies. The mom's owner, who is a wonderful woman, decided to travel over two hours to a Pittsburgh Animal Hospital! She refused to have her dog euthanized! After an operation and a few weeks of recovery the mom bounced back and had eight healthly little puppies! She had six girls and two boys!

I am sooo lucky that this little sweetheart will be joining our family! I know she'll make a wonderful addition!

Golden Retrievers are awesome! We had two in our family, a brother and a sister. Sara died about 4 years ago from cancer and Sam died this past summer from a stroke. Sam and Sara lived a long happy life. Sam was 15 years old when he passed away, and we miss him and Sara tremendously!

On another note, I went grocery shopping today and it was CRAZY! There were tons of people in Walmart...it seemed busier than Christmas! That's what happens in Western Pennsylvania when the Steelers make the Superbowl...it's like another Holiday! Hope everyone has a wonderful Superbowl filled day tomorrow! I'll post more pictures of our new addition tomorrow night!
Go Steelers!

-Ruth Ann

Pay It Forward!

Tonight, I was over at Lori's blog: Morning Glories and Moonflowers. Lori is very talented, and has a really great Etsy shop! She is participating in a really awesome event! She has agreed to send a lovely handmade item within the next 365 days to the first three people who sign up for this round. I happened to be one of the lucky ones!

In return, I agreed to "Pay It Forward" and spread the joy by sending a homemade goodie to the first three people who sign up here. The only catch, of course, is that you agree to continue this lovely chain of handmade happiness to three people of your own.

Please leave me an e-mail address to get in touch with you! :)

Hugs and have a wonderful Friday!

-Ruth Ann

Real Housewives????

Just wondering how many of you watch the reality tv show "Real Housewives" on Bravo? I first tuned in to them during the "New York Season," and then I watched the "Atlanta Season" and now it's the "Orange County Season"! Anyway, is it just me, or are these women nuts?

When I first heard about the show "Real Housewives" I thought great this will be a show that will give me advice on being a housewife and juggling the home and family! Boy was I wrong!

Unless you have an extreme amount of money would you even be able to relate to these women! And it really makes me mad that they consider themselves "housewives"....they have personal chefs, nannies, maids, and barely lay a hand to manage their home!

I think we all need a Real Housewives show that relates to people like you and me who manage a household and a family. I consider myself a Real Housewife...I cook, clean, and wipe butts...I'd like to see those girls from Orange County do that! Do you agree....us blogging girls deserve a show! lol

Anyway, I better get going...as much as I can't stand the show, I can't stand to not watch it! Tune in tonight if you haven't already seen it. It's on at 10pm Eastern time!

Hugs from one real housewife to another,

Ruth Ann

Getting to Know Me

Hi everyone! Kasey over at All That Is Good has started a weekly activity that I thought would be fun!

Every Monday will be different, so today's activity is: List 10 random things about yourself that people might not know or you just want to share.

Here it goes:

1. I collect gnomes! As much as that is against the way I want my home to look...I cannot resist their cute little faces!

2. I am addicted to playing Yahtzee on my Ipod. I can lay in bed at night and literally play for two hours!

3. I'm left handed, but can do most anything with either hand.

4. I can pick up anything (even coins) with my toes. Why bend over when your feet can do the work.

5. I'm the youngest of four children. My brother is about 8 years older than me and my sisters about 12 & 13 years older. I never felt like I ever have belonged in the family...and to this day I still feel unwanted and like an outsider.

6. I have LOVED Richard Gere for many, many years. Because of this, I think it has led to my attraction to much older men! My husband is 14 years older than me! ;)

7. No matter how successful I am in life or what I accomplish, I'm never happy with myself!

8. I played ice hockey for about 3 years when I was in High School.

9. I had severe Postpartum Depression with my first child. I have always been depressed...it's something that I think I'll live with forever! To me being depressed is normal.

10. If you met me you would think that I was bitchy...most people do. I never smile or show happy emotions (refer to #9)....I'm actually a nice, caring, and compassionate person...most people don't see that because they cannot get past my serious look. Then on the other hand because of this...when I joke around- most people take me serious! lol It's quite ironic!


Happy Monday everyone! Thanks goodness it's almost Tuesday!

Hugs,
Ruth Ann

Introducing...Super Ben-The Wonder Boy!

My weekend was pretty uneventful. I did some cleaning today, but that was about it. I'm just stressed because my husband will be going out of town and my reinforcements, as I call them, (my parents) are away as well!

I just got back from grocery shopping....I needed to stock up on things for the week.
As we were packing and getting things together, my oldest-Ben came into the room. He called himself "Super Ben-the Wonder Boy!" He took a plastic headband that he found and put it over his eyes like a mask! Here's a picture that I thought you'd enjoy!
Leave it up to a boy to do something like that! lol

Thank you everyone for the great food advice. I figured that I would try some new things- like letting them help me prepare the food. But I figured if all else fails, I'll just let them eat the foods they enjoy.

RamblingGirl gave me the idea of using cookie cutters! I think this week I'm going to have a tea party with them and make really cool cutout sandwiches! I'll be sure to post the photos!
Thanks again and have a fabulous week!

Hugs,
Ruth Ann

Food Advice Needed

I need advice from all you Veteran Moms out there! I am having a terrible time getting my two picky toddlers to eat ANYTHING! And I mean anything....they don't even like macaroni and cheese, or mashed potatoes? What planet are they from? That is a staple in most kids diets!

Today I was eating a turkey sandwich. They both asked for a bite. They both seemed to enjoy it! When it came time for me to make their lunch, they wouldn't eat it! All they wanted to eat was hot dogs and dill pickles! What am I going to do? Should I surrender into giving them foods like that? I am lucky...they do LOVE fruits and some vegetables but I need other options! Does anyone have any ideas for giving them food that is nutritious? All they want is pizza? Does anyone have any great ideas for giving them food such as this but on the healthier side?

Should I just make them lunch and if they don't eat it, not feed them anything else until dinner? We've thought of that, but I want them to have at least something in their bellies.

Does anyone have any tips that have worked for their toddlers? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

One frustrated mom,
Ruth Ann

An Inaugural Day Blunder

I just wanted to share something cute with you on this very important day. Tonight, at dinner, when my husband came home we were talking about our day.

I mentioned that the boys earned "sharing stickers" for being so good at sharing today. Normally they fight over toys and what not, but today they did fantastic! Then they talked about going to playland and playing with all the kids on the sliding boards. Ben talked about making Valentine cookies while Alex was napping.

After this I said: "Tell daddy what important thing we watched on t.v. today." We had watched the Presidential Inauguration today, and Ben was fascinated with the President's motorcade. This is when Ben said: "Fireman Sam" and Alex yelled "Barney!"

I thought that their comments were very cute....here we have a monumental day in history and all that's important to my toddlers is cartoons! Too cute!

Here We Go Steelers....Here We Go!

Today we went to my father-in-law's for a Steeler party! I was very excited because a party meant that I could make a cake! I don't even like eating cake, I only like creating them! Here is a photo of the cakes that I made. Yes: "cakes!" I was only supposed to make one, but my husband didn't think that would be enough- so I spent all day decorating! The darker one has chocolate icing, and the lighter brown cake has butter cream icing. One would have been plenty, half was left of each cake!
The Steeler logos are actually done out of white wafer chocolate. I put the wafers in a Ziploc and dyed the candy accordingly to what I needed, then cut a very small whole in the bag and piped it onto wax paper. First I did the white background of the logo, then I waited until that set, and then I did the black outlines of the diamonds and after that set I filled it in with color. It's an awesome technique that I love to use. I got the idea from the book "The Whimsical Bakehouse." It gives you awesome ideas for creating a really cool personalized cake.

Before the game we had dinner. My father-in-law made cabbage rolls...they sure were delicious! After dinner we took the boys and went sled riding. This was the first time my boys ever went sled riding. They had soo much fun! Actually it was Ben who had the fun. Alex ended going down the hill once, and lost a shoe....that was it for him! He's still at that age where he's scared of things. He went inside to watch the game with the boys, while Ben had fun sledding with his Aunt and cousins!

Here's a photo of Ben and myself before we went outside. I love the look on his face, he said "Daddy are you done yet?" Ben gives attitude when I constantly take his photos!

Here's Alex going up the hill behind everyone. It reminded me of Randy on the Christmas Story when all the kids leave him behind in his giant snowsuit!

Ben has found a new sport that he loves: snowboarding! He always has to do what the big kids do!
How cute! He looks like a little pro! He did really good! His cousin Nick would leave go of him and he'd go about ten feet before falling!

And here's a photo of me and my boys in our Steeler gear! Yes I am wearing a Steeler jersey, it's just PINK! My husband says it doesn't count because it's not black and gold, but that's ok by me....with an all boy household I need to make some things as girly as possible!

Here we go Steelers....Here We Go!

Hugs,

Ruth Ann

Please Pray For Kelly & Her Little Girl!

Hi everyone...I normally post late at night, but I wanted to share a special blog that I came across late last night. I came across Kelly's blog and she is a wonderful woman who is needing prayer at this time. Please keep Kelly and her baby in your thoughts and prayers! I just know her little girl is going to pull through this! Thank you!
Hugs,
Ruth Ann

Lazy Day

Today it was FREEZING outside! Although it was cold, I managed to hit three thrift stores while my hubby babysat! I didn't find anything spectacular, but I just needed to get out! When I arrived at home the boys were snuggled up on the couch, so I decided to join them.

We watched cartoons and had a great time!

On another note, I just wanted to share with you this video that was on April's blog (Straight from the Heart). This video shows and amazing relationship...if only we could all learn from this! Thanks for sharing this April....this video made me cry! In order to hear this inspirational video, you'll have to turn my music off on the sidebar to the right. Just hit pause or stop.

I plan to post the other cake photos that I promised in tomorrow evening's post. Oh, and guess what? We're going to pick out a puppy tomorrow! I'm so excited. We're getting a Golden Retreiver puppy! We won't be able to take her home for another couple of weeks though...but I plan to take my camera! I'll share that photo with you as well! In the meantime....stay warm!

Hugs,

RuthAnn

Catching Up!

Now that I'm back, I'm trying to catch up! Since I wasn't online around Christmas, I thought I would recap my holiday! Some of the photos are too cute NOT to share!

About a week before Christmas, Santa comes along at night on top of the firetruck! They drive up and down the streets in our town giving out treats for the boys and girls. Once you start hearing the siren you know that Santa is close by! I love that the fire company does this every year. It's going to be one of those memories that my children will always treasure!

This was the first year that Ben wasn't afraid of Santa. When they stopped in front of our house they asked if Ben wanted to climb up on the truck and sit on Santa's lap....he never hesitated! He was very excited and told Santa everything that he wanted for Christmas! Alexander on the other hand was very afraid. He wasn't too fond of Santa this past Christmas!

Lastly, I'd like to share my Christmas photo of the boys. Since Alexander is two, he's very uncooperative when it comes to photo shoots. Ben also gets impatient and always asks "Are you done yet?!" So my idea this time was to give them lollipops as prop and as a distraction. This way they would stay happy....or at least that's what I thought!

Soon after I gave them their tasty treat....like most boys...they turned the lollipops into weapons!

After banging their lollipops together- Ben's broke, but Alex thought that it was his that was broken! Notice the candy shards all over the floor! Alex was heart broken!
Before all of the drama had occured, I was able to capture the shot that I used for my Christmas cards!

I do however wished I had the time to incorporate all of these cute photos into one card. It just seemed that this past Christmas came soo fast! This year however my goal is to become more organized so I'm prepared for each holiday! I hope these photos gave you a good laugh. Sorry that they are so late, I just wanted to catch up a bit! I should be caught up now.

However, Beth at http://ramblinggal1960.blogspot.com/ asked to see the princess cake that I made last week. I'll post that one tomorrow! Have a great night everyone and stay warm! It's super cold here in Pennsylvania....3 degrees here right now! Too cold for me!

Hugs,

Ruth Ann

I'm Back!

Hi everyone! Wow did I miss my blogging friends! It's been soo hectic since I last left you all! Let's see.... the holidays were crazy, especially around Christmas. My son's second birthday was on December 12th, but the only time we could have his party was December 20th and with Christmas so soon after that, it was very very hectic!

So anyway although it's a month late...here was my little boy Alex at birth:

Here he is at about 7 months. I just love this photo:

And here he is at 2 years old. It was a monkey party theme. So I always send out invitations according to the theme. This is the photo I chose for his invites. And here's the invitation....I thought it turned out cute. Don't mind the blob at the bottom of the invite...I censored my phone number....not that I don't mind my blogging buddies calling me! ;)

And while I was absent from blogging...I taught myself how to decorate cakes! Let's see I made my first cake for my son's birthday, I made a snowman cake for Christmas, and I made a castle/princess cake for my friend's little girl! Here's my first cake...

And how cute are these cupcakes!

Like I said, it's just been plain crazy around here! It seems that since my son turned two- he joined the "terrible two's club"! I've been losing my mind lately! More on that in another blog. I did realize one thing though.... I really missed my blogging friends and since I haven't blogged in such a long time I've gotten more depressed! It just goes to show you that blogging is great therapy!

Have a great night everyone!

Hugs,

Ruth Ann