Sugar Lumps

My junior year of high school, once a week, almost every week, we spent a few hours of our school day in the community doing service work. Looking back, I'm starting to really realize how pretty kick ass it was that I went to a school that encouraged service work that much that they would take out a chunk of the school day weekly to allow us to do this. I did mine at a pre-school and was a teacher's helper.

The teacher of these kids was seriously the sweetest lady alive, and I was privileged to get to meet her and help her with these children. She was a plump (and I mean that in the kindest way), grandmother type that you just wanted to snuggle up next to and let her tell you stories. She loved the kids and the kids loved her. She would affectionately call them sugar lumps. You know, like Marry Poppins, spoon fulla sugar? I always thought it was the cutest nickname, and here I am years later calling my children my sugar lumps. It has somehow evolved into sugar rumps, or shuggie, or shuggie rumps, among other variations, but that's exactly what they are, my sugar lumps.

Each morning when Raigan awakes, she gathers her blanket, binkie (I know, Lord help us that she doesn't go to college still taking a pacifier), and her favorite Elmo and waits for one of us to scoop her up out of her crib. We bring her into our bedroom and more often than not recently, asks for a "pop pickle" before anything else.

A pop pickle being a Popsicle of course, and I usually oblige.

My little sugar lumps just love ice cream. 

 I enjoy reading Cincinnati Magazine, and this months cover was the most delectable Ice Cream cone. I made a list of their suggestions of the best place in the city to get Ice Cream and I'll be crossing some of the sites off next week because the editors just made all the frozen treats looks irresistible.

I'm sure these littles won't mind tagging along for the adventure either.

Late Night Rambles

I was sifting through the hundreds of photographs that are trapped in these tiny electronic folders on my computer, because it just seems like an injustice to keep them trapped away in there. I almost got overwhelmed because I have gone to the polar end of the spectrum and instead rarely taken pictures, I have nearly documented every waking moment of my life for the past 2 weeks, with the exception of work of course. I don't think the patients in the ICU would appreciate making an appearance on my blog, and I don't think the people regulating HIPPA would appreciate it either.

So I'm going through pool pictures, sorting folders of my mother in law and her grand babies all under one roof and the way her face lit up (I'm super excited to share those as soon as I can!), and one of our many many trips to get ice cream, when... I came across this photo:

I'd like to title it, "Keep up all the hard work, Mom."

Corny, I know, but I have been working a lot and picking up as many shifts at the hospital as I can to help take care of my family since my Husband was laid off and to save money for the nonrefundable trip I booked to Japan before the layoff happened. I have never minded working and have been since I was 14. I bussed tables, under the table at a restaurant and have been working ever since, but working full time currently,  and some weeks even overtime, well... it just sucks.

Wahh says this spoiled mom that is used to working part time and soaking up all the babiness and toddlerness that her girls have left. I have to say although I miss my girls terribly and text my husband asking him to send me pictures of what they are doing throughout my work day, it does feel really good to be able to support my family financially and I really do enjoy being at the hospital. I just wish there was someway where I could work, but not miss out on any of my girls' lives. Would someone just invent a time machine or something, already? I mean, Back to the Future came out in the 80s, you would think someone would have brought fruit to that idea by now...

I digress.

So in trying to convince myself that I am a, glass half full kind of gal, I know things will all fall into place the exact way that they should. I don't want to get too excited, but Hub has an interview tomorrow morning and has already had a few calls back from places that he's applied.

In the mean time I'll be looking at this really cute, pudgy, year and half old thumbs up.

Little Passports

We got another Little Passports in the mail the other day, this time from Brazil.

It's fun for Riley to get her own mail. 

And the fact that we get to learn about other cultures and geography is super fun. 

Riley now has a stamp in Passport from Brazil. 

My little world traveler. 

She now knows all about South America and that Brazil is there. 

Next month is Japan!

Movie wtih Mama

There are some moments in my life that I never want to forget, that's mostly why I take so many darn photographs, because they are a lot more permanent than my fleeting memory.

I have a memory of  my mother and I downtown Cincinnati  at Newberry's on sixth and race, an old drug store that is now a CVS. I must have been around Riley's age, but I remember it very vividly. We were there and my mom bought me a doll that I was desperate to have and it meant a lot to me. I remember the doll's clothes, the place that it was in the store, and the soft way my mother spoke to me.  Those are one of those few memories that will forever be stamped into my memory.

The crisp October night that I feel in love with my husband that I hope I never forget, and I remind myself not to.

There was also one particular night at my Dad's house after it had snowed and I remember soaking in the view of the city blanketed in snow from his porch . And the day I moved into my dorm my freshman year of college at the University of Cincinnati, each of these memories (with the exception of the drug store, obviously) I had made a mental note to myself, do not forget this moment.

Tonight I took Riley to see the movie Monte Carlo in theaters. It was well past her bedtime, we were running super later for the start of the movie and my gas light came on, but we went anyway. We rushed in got our tickets, a popcorn, and a Coke. We joined only three other people in the theater and as my little is munching on her popcorn, she looks up at me with her hazel green eyes and in her tiny little four year old voice says, "Thanks mom... for all of it." I can't speak for her but I took it as her saying, thanks for bringing me to see this movie I've been dying to see, thanks for the popcorn, thanks for letting me drink a pop, thanks for letting me stay up way past my bedtime, thanks for spending time with just me. My heart just melted, and I thought this is one of them, this one of those few memories that I will put in this part of my memory that I just cannot forget. I can't forget the smell of the popcorn, the chill of the movie theater air even if it's 90+ degrees out, the sound of the munching popcorn,  my little girls tiny little body in the folding theater seat next to me, the smile on her lips and the excitement on her face.

The Root Beer Stand

Last week, or well I guess it was this week, being that it's still Saturday and all, a bunch of us went to a place in Cincinnati that I have only heard tales of. I have been wanting to see if it could be true for the longest time, really a place that makes homemade root beer?

It was true and it was wonderful.

It truly is a stand, very small and cozy inside with a counter and only about 20 of these stools around it. There is seating outside on picnic tables, but we choose to go with the nostalgia of it all and sit inside. Apparently, the Root Beer Stand is the place to be and they take the stand part of their name very seriously, as we had to stand and wait for a place to sit for awhile. haha

The wait was well worth it though for the creamy goodness that was their homemade root beer. It tasted almost like drinking a cream soda flooded with vanilla.

They sell footlongs and burgers, popcorn, and few other menu items. They also make homemade lemonade and orange soda, and you can of course get a root beer float.

These are my nephews and niece, unfortunatly Riley missed out on the Root Beer Stand because she was hanging out with her other cousin for the day, but she has reminded me that she missed out on it more than once, so we'll of course have to go back, twist my arm...

Raigan's faces as of late have been cracking me up, she gives me these when she doesn't want me to photograph her, I'm assuming, because she doesn't tell me. There are times when this 1 1/2 year old will say, "No picture!" So I just click away the cuteness unless she tells me otherwise.

If you live in the Cincinnati or Northern Kentucky area, this place is a must try, especially if you have little ones. Classic stands like this are hard to come by, and home made root beer is too.

It's located in Sharonville right off I-275.

Here is their website for more details: http://www.therootbeerstand.com

The 3 Stooges

This is my brother in law Mark, caught off guard.

This is my goofy husband, Brandon, caught off guard.

This is my goofy husband, Brandon and his best friend Simon, who's actual name is Joey and lives next door to us (this post just got complicated), not caught off guard.

Let me tell you something funny about my hub and his bestie.

They usually match (case and point in the picture above) and sometimes I wonder if they call or text each other to let each other know what the other is wearing. haha

They have been friends for years and he is Riley's Godfather.

For mother's day he gave me the most obnoxious card know to mothers; an audio one with pictures of kids in the car getting food all over and when you open it it says "MMmmoooOOOooooooooMMMMmMMMmMMMM.!" Riley loves to leave it open for forever.

They both love the Reds and I am very thankful that my husband has such a great guy as his best friend and that our girls have their Uncle Mimen as Raigan likes to call him.

Raigan's Down on the Farm Birthday in the making

I thoroughly enjoy planning my little girls birthday parties. It's my favorite hobby to do and I usually spend the months preceding their birthdays collecting things related to the theme. I also keep a tote in the garage of times of parties past and recycle the things I can to use in party after party.

These are the things I have collected so far for Raigan's 2nd birthday themed Down of the Farm. I love collecting things all year round because it's fun and because I can buy things that are cheap, on sale, or on clearance. Instead of rushing at the end and paying whatever price without shopping around.

Like these cow printed finds from the 80% off section at Hobby Lobby, one of my favorite places to shop for party things. I paid a little under $10 for both of these great things.

I have started the color combination of white and black, red, and yellow which are fun primary colors for a 2 year old and go with the cow, barn, farm theme. I found this red beverage bucket for $8 at Dollar General, I saw the same one and wanted it at Target, but didn't want to pay nearly double the for it. I did find these really cute corn on the cob holders at the dollar section of Target.


I found these food baskets and table cloths at Dollar General as well, they were only $1.50. I also found the paper liners to go in the baskets on clearance at Walmart for $2.00 for 50 of them. These really cute paper straws came from an Etsy shop for a couple dollars for 50 of them, I'm hoping to find some cheap mason jars to use them with. This apple basket I scoured the internet to find some cheap ones, but came out unsuccessful, and then I went and found them half off at Hobby Lobby for just $1.50.

I'm really excited about all these finds, and I'm really excited for my little one to have a fun themed birthday party.

And just for the sake of keeping it real, I worked really hard to take these pictures while trying to keep up with a little toddler that this party is for.

Argyle socks and polka dots would only look good on a cute little one. 

And cute little pink ruffle shorts. 

And the mess my little love leaves behind.