A Really LATE (not-so) Wordless Wedensday

I wasn't planning on participating in WW today, but I just had to share these pictures.  They're grainy and not anything spectacular, but they pretty much sum up the reason why my heart beats.


Every night, Ryan and I each read Maeve a couple of books.  Henry's at the age where he will sit through half of a 5 page board book.  We've tried integrating him into the bed time story routine, but it just isn't working at the moment ;)  Soon, very soon, I'm sure he'll be crazy into books like his sis.

Anyways, I had read my two books, kissed Maeve goodnight and headed out into the kitchen.  I heard Ryan reading, (which is always so adorable to hear...) but when I walked past the room my heart just melted into a big pile of goo.  :)  Maeve was sitting on Ryan's shoulders resting her head on his head, and hugging his neck, listening to the story.  It was completely adorable.  I ran, grabbed my phone, and managed to snap ONE picture before she noticed I was watching... ;)

My life is so blessed! 

Hope everyone has a good night :) 

linking up with:

an award? :) YAY!

Yay!  It's always fun to hear that your bloggy blog got an award! :)

Libby over at the ELF blog gave me this cute, (yummy looking ;) award!

In order for me to accept this loveliness, I have to share three things that I love about myself, a photo and award this to a few other very cute, very deserving bloggers.  :)

So, three things I love about myself:

•  I'm a pretty good cook... and most of what I make or have made, I've learned on my own by trial and error ;)... when Ryan and I first got married, we had mac and cheese for dinner at least a few times a week.  It was when we had Maeve, that I decided I really needed to figure this whole cooking thing out.  While I'm not comfortable (or very good) at working with a lot of different meats, we've definitely expanded our menu.  This week we've had chicken enchiladas, baked ziti and chicken pot pie.  I am also a big breakfast cooker.  I usually make the kids muffins or pancakes at least a few times out of the week.  I love the feeling of feeding my family yummy food that makes them happy :)
• I'm frugal :)  I like to save money on normal every day things (such as groceries, clothing- I shop at 2nd hand stores, toiletries, etc.) and spend the saved money on vacations :)  It may not be the greatest financial move, but the memories we're making are worth more than the nicest car, house or clothes in the world :)
• I love my healthy appetite :) haha!  That's for sure... 

Okay... here's the photo I would like to share:

ahhhh sweet HAWAII :)  This was on our honeymoon... we had the most amazing time... and have I mentioned lately that I am so completely in love with the greatest guy on earth?  I love looking back at "old" pictures of us... I thought I loved Ryan so much on our wedding day (and yes, of course, I DID!) but through the years, making a family with him, seeing him hold our babies, wrestle with Mr. H, read stories to MaeMae, I love him more than ever.... :)  It's true what they say, that love just grows and grows with time.  :)

Okay... and the 2 bloggers I'd like to pass this award on to, are not only super bloggers, but they're also good friends :)  These are blogs that I read daily and that are updated with lots of pictures and funny stories. 

Manda over at The MiniVan Diaries
Leslie over at The Story Of Us

Great job blogging ladies! 

Happy Valentines Day 2011!

We are big holiday people around here.

I pretty much go all out for any and every holiday.  And we
start celebrating weeks in advance... I think it makes life that much more fun, right?

Valentines is one of my favorite holidays.  I love the pink, the candy, and of course, I love, LOVE :)

A couple of weeks ago, we decided to take the kids up to Auburn Hills for a night.  It had been about a year since we'd been to "The Rainforest Cafe" and I really wanted to see how Henry would react to the noises and sights.

We ended up getting a little bit of a dump for a hotel, (thanks Priceline negotiator...) but we still had a good time.

We left Saturday morning and spent the day at Great Lakes Crossing.  The kids had a blast- they rode the carousel, played in the giant kiddie land and ran like wild monkey's through Jeepers.  It was nice to be out of the house, doing something together, as a family of 4.  With Ryan working in Ann Arbor, its usually the kids and I.  Don't get me wrong, I love our days- and we do pretty well (besides getting stuck in our driveway last week :/) but its awesome to get out and have an extra "helper"...(aka dadda ;)

The highlight of the trip (for the kids) was definitely "The Rainforest Cafe."  The kids loved it.  Maeve surprised us both, when she reacted like a cat getting dipped in water, as we walked into the restaurant.  She was climbing up our backs, on top of our necks- completely terrified.  It took about 15 minutes for her to warm up to the place, but when she did, she was in awe.  Henry didn't really react to much- every once in awhile he'd let out a scream or shriek of delight, but he was more into the food.

Saturday night, we had high hopes for a good night sleep.  Afterall, the kids had had NO nap, and had been running like mad all afternoon.  Unfortunately, hotel rooms seem to hype them up.   And here comes the highlight of the trip for me... my kids snuggled together, eating popcorn and watched 15 minutes of a movie- WITH their arms around eachother.  Cue tears and a bursting heart :)

After popcorn and a movie, it was time for bed... the kids however, did not agree.  I have no idea how long they were up.  I lost track of the time.  All I know is that I'm pretty sure I saw every hour on the clock that night.  Henry would wake Maeve up and vice versa.  Around 7 AM, we were packed up and on the road back home.  Kind of lame... but there was no sense in hanging out in a hotel room with two wound up, overly tired, incredibly cranky kids.

Today (Monday ;)  is the "real" Valentines Day and even though we had celebrated over the weekend, I wanted to try and make it festive for the kids.  We had pink pancakes, heart sandwiches and (red) spaghetti ;)... We got each of the kids a little surprise that has kept them well occupied most of the night.   All in all, it was another LOVEly Valentines Day...

And I know I say this a lot, but I don't think I could ever say it enough... I am so blessed...so so so blessed.

late night whispers.

Me: "Ryan..."

Ryan: "Yeah?"

Me: "Are you asleep?"

Ryan: "Nope."

Me: "Me neither. Hey do you think we want the same things?"

Ryan: "What?"

Me: "Do you think we have the same goals in life? Like we both want to end up in the same place?"

Ryan: "Are you talking about Florida?"

Me: "Yeah, Florida and other things. Like how many kids do you want? And what kind of house do you see us in? Ya know, like are our priorities the same?"

Ryan: "I think." (Ryan, at this point is praying that my klonopin and unisom will kick in asap...)

Me: "I want a single story house because I hate vacuuming stairs. Even if we have like,6 kids- I still want a single story house. They can share bedrooms. Wouldn't that be so cute if we had 3 girls and 3 boys and they shared bedrooms?"

Ryan: "Yeah."

Me: "I don't think I'll ever buy new things again... even if we have a lot of money. I think its a waste. I like the idea of recycling clothes and reusing baby stuff, ya know?"

Ryan: "Yeah."

Me: "The only thing that really matters to me is that we can give our kids experiences. Ya know?"

Ryan: "Yeah."

Me: "I don't care if they have brand new shoes and I don't ever want Maeve to own a purse that costs more than 25 bucks. I want them to value experiences. How do you think we can get our kids to put value in people and places rather than things... ya know?"

Ryan: "Stop buying them stuff."

Me: "Oh. But you agree with Florida, the one story house and 6 kids right?"

Ryan: "Yeah."

Me: "Okay, good. We're on the same page."


.... late night musings with Ryan :) Always entertaining, even when I'm talking to myself :)

how silly.

this would mark my THIRD blog post in one day. Funny because I went about two weeks with no blogging. I guess I have spurts of blogginess or something.

Or it could be that I can't sleep.

I wonder how many blog posts have been written all because of my insomnia. I bet a handful... probably two handfulls.

Anywho... its closing in on midnight. I'm in the bedroom... typing/facebooking/jack johnson stalking/editing all with LOLA snoring next to me.

Where's Ryan??? He's on his hands and knees- scrubbing the floors. He's been scrubbing them for close to 4 hours. FOUR HOURS. All I can say is that I'm pretty lucky that I have a husband who takes his stress out by cleaning rather than say, drinking... or some other bad habit.

I'm having a really hard time sleeping lately (what's new?)- but I think the recent bouts of insomnia are due to the craziness that is my life. I haven't gone a day in the past hmmm... MONTH?!?! without shedding at least one tear. This can't be healthy.

So... in an attempt to get myself to sleep, I'm going to count sheep/my blessings with you...


.I have 2 beautiful, healthy children
.I have 1 adoring, faithful husband
.I have strong family... distance won't untie us
.I have 2 talented sisters, who may be far away, but are always on my mind.
.I have a roof over my head
.I have like 3 boxes of k cups in my cupboard
.I have a big cookout/luau party on Friday with good friends
.I have an 80.00 check on my fridge written out to ME for MY PHOTOGRAPHY :)
.I have "Florida windows" in my bedroom- which open out perfectly for me to hear the rain
.I picked my first cucumber today (out of my own garden of course)
.Ryan is starting his job at U of M soon
.We're "showing" our house on Sunday (just to friends... who ARE interested- but its not a REAL showing)
.I was told that I was loved by my daughter, my husband, mom, dad and grandma today.
.I have the ability to control how something is going to affect me... I might not have control over the situation- but I can control how I respond to it
.I have a bottle of tosti asti that is screaming at me from the fridge (maybe this weekend?)
.I found a painting from 1984 (the year I was born) at St.Vincent Paul Thriftstore- of sailboats. It reminds me of St. Augustine... I bought it :)
.I got a text from a good friend today, just asking how I was doing
.I have acupuncture tomorrow
.I have two healthy legs that took me on a nice, long walk tonight.
.my scale now reads in the 120s. HALLELUJAH.
.I cashed in loose coins today at a coinstar and got 32 bucks.
.it rained today. I took my camera out, sat down and watched it. There is something very refreshing about crying with the rain
.I have an engagement shoot tomorrow with a sickengly adorable couple :)
.It's cookies and cream custard day at Culvers. (cancel out the walk, mentioned above)
.I have a God that lets me start each day new.
.I have a God that lets me mess up, say stupid stuff, do dumb things and still gives me a second, third, fourth, etc. etc. etc. chance
.I have a God that will pick me up and get me through this cloudy fog.
.I have sleepy eyes that are finally starting to burn and shut.


Good night. :)

ohhhh My Love.

Remember this post? About "Trashing the TV?"

I have to say, I'm pretty proud of myself. We've kept the TV off- we've gone on long walks, worked on letters, numbers, animals, etc. Maeve has been playing with her Tag JR (does that count as an electronic? It shouldn't... :)

Anyways, what I'm getting to, is that its been fab listening to music all day and NOT nick JR. :) I'm keeping this up FOR SURE.

Here's the thing: My love. Ohhhh my love (Ryan)... He arrived home from work last night. The kids and I were in Henry's room- I was reading "Olive My Love" (Mal- took a pic and tried to send it to you via picmail- but it wouldn't work!) to Maeve, Henry was chewing on something... you get the picture. Anyways, Ryan comes in, Maeve jumps all over him, Henry wiggles with joy, etc.

Not a MINUTE later, Ryan and Maeve walked out of the room and I heard the TV go on. Grrr....

I came out and said "Ryan- I've kept the TV off all week and the second you get home, its on?"

He said, "Well how else do you want to entertain the kids while we get stuff done?"

HAHA :) Ohhhhh MY LOVE. Ohhhhh MY LOVE.

Our brains are wired so differently. And sometimes, annoying as it is, I know its meant to be that way :) Maeve got to watch "Ratatouille" last night and I bit my tongue.

This morning, the tv is still off... I'm currently listening to Maeve read her Tag Jr. books, and I have Jack Johnson's "To The Sea" blasting through the kitchen.

Anyways, yesterday I was asking about a set television schedule- it looks as though we're falling into one. No TV during the day with momma... and a movie at night with dadda. Sounds good to me :)

my ODE to Ryan.

First let me say... sometimes I have a little blog vomit- meaning "stuff" just comes spilling out when I don't mean it to. The last post "Funk 101" was blog vomit. After posting it, I realized I don't really want the world to know about our financial & family issues. So... that's that.

Anyways... onto my ODE to Ryan! :) It's been awhile since I've blogged about HIM. And SOLEY HIM. With our anniversary a few days away, I figured tonight is a good night.

I love this guy.

I really, really love him.

I love him because he changes diapers like its his job.

I love him because he goes to work every morning to a job that he hates in order to provide for our family.

I love him because he looks up to my dad.

I love him because he gives me my medicine with a glass of water and a kiss every single night.

I love him because he understands that I sleep diagonally across the bed.

I love him because he picks my clothes up off the floor.

I love him because he knows I try my hardest.

I love him because he has the same goal in life to live like Jimmy Buffett.

I love him because he corners me at random times and says "You know I love you, right?"

I love him because he takes showers before he comes to bed.

I love him because he touches the garbage for me so I don't have to :)

I love him because he thinks I'm beautiful.

I love him because he wants me to be happy at ALL times.

I love him because he listens to my crazy ideas of selling everything we own and moving to Hawaii and living off the land :)

I love him because he wants 4 children (well secretly he wants 6... he just won't come out and say it yet :)

I love him because he has a passion for music and sometimes at night when he thinks I'm sleeping I hear him playing and practicing his guitar... and SOMETIMES I can even hear a lyric or two he's working on... and he's great.

I love him because I bust his chops about the guitar and he takes it gracefully :)

I love him because he eats whatever the heck I cook.

I love him because even if its a burnt piece of cheese I put on his plate he smiles and says "this was great babe."

I love him because he wears the moby wrap.

I love him because he's wrapped around Maeve's finger.

I love him because he still kisses me when I have coffee breath :)

I love him because he understands that I have severe insomnia and sometimes it requires me playing cell phone games or typing away on the computer at 3 AM.

I love him because when I'm preggo he sleeps on the couch.

I love him because he lets me open the windows when its raining- even though it gets either incredibly cold or incredibly hot in the house.

I love him because I've brought home a bird and fish and he hasn't left me yet. :)

I love him because he told me he likes to hold hands with our fingers crossed best. :)

I love him because he sleeps on the bum pillows :) haha... sorry bub.

I love him because he thinks I can do anything.

I love him because he keeps me sane.

I love him because when we share dessert I eat the chocolate part (like the brownie) and he eats the ice cream.

I love him because we like to analyze song lyrics and apply them to our life.

I love him because he does that towel snapping thing at me that I secretly pretend to hate... but really like :)

I love him because he can fall asleep in 2 seconds flat.

I love him because he calls at least three or four times a day just to say "hi."

I love him because of his oral hygiene. This guy goes to the dentist more than any other person I know... just to get his teeth cleaned.

I love him because he loves every sport on the planet and is so passionate about it.

I love him because he has seriously seen every single gross thing a human (ME) could possibly imagine- and yet, he still thinks I'm attractive.

I love him because he buys me tampons, coca cola cake and gossip magazines when I'm on my period :)

I love him because sometimes he calls and says "don't cook- lets go out tonight."

I love his "butt chin" :)- that Henry inherited :)

I love that he pretends that he doesn't like my fancy Keurig coffee cups... yet he has one every morning :)

I love that he doesn't care what he wears and I can pack a suitcase for him.

I love that we match sometimes. (he hates this... or claims to hate it... but I am pretty sure he secretly loves it)

I love that he likes sweet candy... like starbursts and skittles. It just makes me laugh :)

I love that he lets me commandeer the remote control

I love that he comes home from work excited to tell me funny stories.

I love that even with all my quirks and "going half-mad" days he still loves me.



Gosh.... how to even sum up this post? I feel like if I stop the list, than that is everything I love about Ryan. Not true. I could go on forever. But I'm sure you guys are already overdosed on sap.

Ryan is such a trooper. I've been a P-I-T-A this past week. I know it. I fullllllly admit that. And yeah, Ryan does get annoyed with me... I think he DID say this morning "Ash what's the problem? You've been snapping at me since you woke up." (haha whoops.... I do tend to snap here and there :) But he handles me. He knows what I want and what I need. And although he can't always give me what I want... he gives me what I think I need. (and yes- that's sort of a Jack Johnson song/lyric :)...) But its so true. I am so blessed to have him as my partner in this crazy life. He's the best. Truly the best.

And, well... I LOVE HIM! :)

Thank GOD for our "Rainy Day Fund"

Ryan and I were planning on doing sommmmething for our anniversary... but really we weren't sure what. We tossed around the idea of camping... Mackinaw... Sandusky...but ultimately decided to just settle for dinner on our anniversary (July 1st). The past few days have been less than desirable here at the house... fleas combined with... LIFE in general kind of melted me into a pile of goo this morning.

Ryan said "Look for a cheap hotel, we're getting outta here." THANK YOU RYAN and THANK YOU RAINY DAY FUND :) Because I desperately need away from the house for a bit. These fleas are making my skin itch (figuratively and literally) and I need a break from technology. So.... we're off- just for the night. The Hilton in Auburn Hills shall be our home away from home tonight. We're planning on eating at Rainforest... doing a little shopping & letting Maeve play in that indoor amusement park thing. Ultimately, it will be great to get away and clear my head. Prepare for the week to come & refocus on what really matters :)

Ryan's made me promise some changes come Sunday. And I'm more than willing to oblige. Enough's enough :)

I will summarize & post pics of our one night get away tomorrow evening! :)

No News.

Isn't the general rule of thumb that "no news is good news?" Not in this case :(

I haven't had any news to share. And that's a bad thing :(

Ryan didn't get the Florida job. We're bummed. We let ourselves get too excited. I was even dreaming ahead to next July (our anniversary to be exact). I was thinking how we could DRIVE an hour to Cape Canaveral, hop on a last minute cruise at 150 bucks a person and THAT would be our anniversary trip... versus the exciting Detroit zoo trip we're about to take. (sarcasm)

Oh well... we shall press on. It's much harder for Ryan than it is for me. He's working a thankless job (that DOES pay the bills- and for that we're thankful) but the actual job is thankless. Ryan has worked TOO hard for TOO long to still be at Culligan doing grunt work. It seems like the general order of things should be as follows:
Go to college. Work hard. Graduate. Get degree. Apply for a job. Get said job. Life is good- no worries about health insurance, house payments, cars running, etc. Apparently that's not how things work.

Things aren't all glum around here- don't get me wrong- we're happy and we know there is a reason we're here (in Jackson that is). Ryan keeps telling me "something good is going to happen." I'm waiting...

Memorial Weekend 2010!

"The best laid plans" should be the real title of this post. It's amazing with even my superb planning skills (more like OCD/controlling skills) how things still can go completely awry. (love the word "awry.")

Lo and behold, Ryan had Saturday off- this does NOT happen people. Normally when there is a holiday, everyone else at Culligan is home but RYAN is the one they send in to do some grunt work. You can imagine my excitement and PURE JOY when he told me he was off on Saturday :)

Saturday was spent cleaning and doing yard work. I planted a mini-garden. It's MINI MINI. Ryan kind of refused to dig up a patch of grass larger than a beach towel... (yeah that's about the size of my little garden... one of those over sized beach towels). We got this wiggle worm hose thingy for Maeve to play in while I concentrated (intensely) on planting my squash (that's all I really have growing in there at the moment... BUT along w/ my scattering of melon plants- which are coming along VERY nicely & my 3 topsy turvy's I am hoping to have some luck!)

Saturday night we rented "Dear John." I was disappointed. I was waiting for her to write "I'm pregnant" or "I have cancer" or SOMETHING really dramatic. Instead it was just a bunch of "blah blah blah." Ryan joked that in order for me to deem a movie "really good" there has to be either a pregnancy or a death. Not true, not true... :)

Sunday we woke up bright and early- I had to be at church at 10:30 to photograph a dedication. We were taking the kids (the dedication was at the church we go to anyway) but I didn't want to try and focus on taking pictures with Maeve tugging on me. So I left early and went by myself & the kids followed with my parents. The service was great... somehow that pastor speaks to my heart each and every time. I honestly start looking around like "are there cameras somewhere recording my reactions???" Because the messages always hit home (sometimes too close to home).

Now, I've expressed my desire to someday be a "photographer"- I am hoping to take a post-production class at some point... anyways, I would love to continue to photograph children, babies, couples, seniors, etc. BUT I have absolutely NO DESIRE, WHATSOEVER to photograph a wedding. The stress combined with church lighting... ummm no thanks. So yeah- that church lighting- this is my 2nd time photographing a baptism/dedication and this one was tougher than the first. This church had stage lighting so it was pretty shadowy. Fortunately the parents saved me a great seat RIGHT in front of where the pastor dedicated Lottie. I was grateful I didn't have to run all over the place :) And believe it or not, even with the crappy lighting, there are some pretty cool pictures. Still editing...still editing...



After the dedication we headed up to Detroit. It was WEDDING time. Our (my family's- not OURS) old foreign exchange student, Martina, was getting married. We totally missed the wedding. I mean, the wedding party was marching out as we were running in. Whoops. We met up with my family & thus began the waiting. And waiting. And waiting.

First we waited outside (for about an hour & a half) for the wedding party to get to the limo & do bubbles... during this time, I made my sister and her boyfriend, Cody, pose for pictures. We joked everyone was going to think they were engaged :) ... they're not. Just for the record. But they do make a cute couple...

We made our way over to the reception which was in Greektown- the only part of Detroit I'm semi-familiar with. Greektown 5 years ago (pre-kids/marriage) was fun... but Greektown with 2 babies, uhhhh not so much. We went to the reception (which was in the upstairs of this really good pizza place) and let Maeve dance and dance and dance. No joke- about 2 hours later (by this time it was 8:30 or so?) dinner still had not been served and my kids were losing it. Well... Henry was okay- he just wanted to sleep but was having a hard time because of the noise and lights. Maeve was a second away from a meltdown. This was really not very "mom" of me- but we were IN Greektown- like a step away from the casino... so I asked my mom if she could watch Maeve for 20 minutes while Ryan and I spent 10 bucks in the casino. We ended up winning 50 bucks. We're lucky like that :)

We ran back up to the reception and dinner was STILL not being served. Now it was around 9 or so. It was time to pack up and leave. Maeve actually fell asleep like a sack of potatoes and Henry followed suit. Luckily we only had a 10 minute drive back to our hotel in Southfield.

We got there, checked in, got the crib set up and ordered room service ASAP. I felt HORRIBLE- Maeve kept saying "I SO HUNGRY!" The food got there semi-fast and Maeve was in heaven :) We spread the food out on the bed and she picked away. I think it was 11:30 or so by the time we fell asleep. It was a LONG DAY.


The next morning started out promising- a great breakfast, followed by a HUGE DOWNPOUR. No Detroit zoo :( We drove home early- around 9 or so, and I was deterrrrrmined to do SOMETHING for Memorial day. Unfortunately the rain hit Jackson as well, and the parades were canceled. Ahhhhh well. The best laid plans, right?

We didn't get to swim at the Westin. We didn't get to the zoo. We didn't see any parades. We even missed the fireworks on Saturday night. BUT it was a good weekend. Even though our plans were kind of all over the place...

Lumps And Tears :(

Yesterday was quite the eventful day here at the McKenney household.

Around 3 or so Ryan started noticing this lump on his neck- he kept saying "Ash you gotta feel this!" I was grossed out by it and kept shrugging it off... Well Ryan, who is completely not a doctor-goer, starts saying "Ash something is really wrong with my neck!" Sure enough, in like an hour, the whole right side of his face was really swollen! I was flipping out like a mad woman... "Can you breathe? Can you swallow? Are you allergic to something??" It was pretty bad. I MADE him call the nurse health line and ask about it- they said to take some tylenol and see if the swelling goes down- if it doesn't, see a doc. So we waited... it didn't go down, in fact, today its about the same size. But I can't convince him to see a doc. Jeez if it were me I would be strapped in an ambulance with an IV drip. So send a prayer Ryan's way! Poor guy looks like I punched him in the neck or something...

To end the day, I was giving Maeve a bath and she was doing her normal standing up, walking around the tub thing which makes me incredibly nervous... but as much as I try and make her sit, shes a strong willed kid- she screams and flails, so 99% of the time, she is standing and I am holding her with one arm and washing her with the other. Last night however, I had a hold of one of her arm and she slipped, and caught her chin on the tub... ohhhhh LORD. It was a nightmare. She had bit her tongue with her brand new, very sharp teeth!!!!!!!!!! It was bleeding pretty good- and I reacted in a SO not mom way- I grabbed her and was holding her, but at the same time closing my eyes and yelling for Ryan. (thankfully he was there b/c I totally freeze up in those kind of situations) He ran in, picked her up and I stayed sitting on the bathroom floor with my eyes closed, shouting, "Are her teeth still there??? Did she knock a tooth out? Did she chunk off her tongue?" "Does she need stitches?" THANK THE LORD she is fine :) 2 teeth- still there and a fully intact tongue... with a little cut on the tip of it. But after a long day, it totally sent Maeve over the edge and the only consolable thing we could do was give her a bottle and rock her to sleep... which I did. Then I told Ryan that she needed to sleep with us because I was afraid her tongue would open up in the middle of the night and she'd choke on blood or something... rationally I knew this couldn't happen but I thought it was a good excuse to cuddle with the bug :) Ryan agreed.... hahaha... Maeve ended up going to her room around 11 or so, but it was heavenly holding her while she slept for a few hours. When she was first born I used to study her while she slept- and to this day I still do- of course not as often, but whenever I get the chance to just watch her, I do. I can't get over her perfection...

So that was our day... Oh and prayers for Ryans lump would be appreciated! haha he is going to kill me for posting this...

The Olympics

Oh my,my,my, I LOVE the Olympics. I look forward to them every time the olympic year rolls around. And every year I am bummed that they are so far away- really now, who the heck is going to fly to Beijing to see the Olympics??? I guess if million dollar bills were falling from the sky I might be able to hop on a plane and catch that show. But whatever, not gonna happen. SO instead, my little family has been celebrating the Olympics in every way possible. Please don't think I am totally lame after reading these next few lines... BUT:
I actually went out and bought an official Olympic rings hat. And I wear it. We have also been cooking Asian inspired foods (easy thanks to Trader Joes!!!) We have also nicknamed Maeve "Dang Lin Lin" because Maeve sounds like she is talking Chinese all the time (I think her real name is DENG LinLin but it sounds funny to say "Dannnnng Lin Lin"). Anyways that little Deng Lin Lin is this teeny tiny Chinese machine that cranks out perfect gymnastics like its her job- oh wait it IS her job. And no, she is not 16... she's gotta be like 10 or something. Lets see what else... oh we've dressed Maeve up in red, white and blue and gave her these deadly, pointy flags which will not happen again... Our dogs are wearing R,W &B bandannas and of course, we've been watching every second of the games. I tivo them so Ryan and I can watch them at night. Its a LOT to watch but its worth it- I love all the emotion that goes into the Olympics. Thats probably my favorite part about them. But I do have to admit that during the "boring" events (I won't name them because I don't want to offend anyone...) we play Scattegories. My favorite game to play ever!!! Ryan and I sit in bed and play Scattegories until either swimming, diving or gymnastics comes on. I always win. And its a good thing too because we bet on those games- and let me tell you, there are some high stakes!!! Last night I won a back rub- it lasted all of 2 minutes. But whatever, its the whole winning thing that I like :)
So back to the Olympics- I am completely bummed (probably not as much as Alicia Sacramone) that USA didn't win the gold in the team finals. HELLO- open window when Fung Shey Shey fell on beam- but no such luck. Alicia S. fell on beam AND on floor. Bummer! But the guys did great the other night- it was so neat to see them ecstatic about winning the bronze. Oh and tonight is the individual finals- YES, YES, YES. My FAVVVVVVVVVVVE. Go Shawn Johnson!!!!!! Nastia Liukin is great too, but there is something about Shawn- you WANT to see her do great and win. Shes just too cute. So thats what I will be doing tonight- beating my husband at scattegories and then watching Shawn kick some butt in the individual finals.
SO if you aren't all watching already, you should! Its history in the making! :) And if you want to see some crazzzzyyyy stuff go to the link below this- its of Shawn J. Then watch the videos on the right- amazzzing!!!!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shawn-Johnson/8619893116?ref=s&refurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fs.php%3Fref%3Dsearch%26init%3Dq%26q%3Dshawn%2Bjohnson#/video/video.php?v=584229013380&oid=8619893116

I Feel Like Such A Mom!

This is going to sound funny, but from the moment I found out I was preggo, I just couldn't get a grasp on what it was going to be like to be a mom. It was almost like it wasn't happening to me- like an out of body experience or something. All the baby kicks, the ultrasound, it all seemed too good to be true... I kept thinking I was going to have this moment where I felt older, more in control, more "mom-ish," but nope, never happened. OHhhhhhh the hours I spent watching "A Baby Story"- I'd always think "someday I will give birth!" "Someday" came real soon! :)

I did have a successful vaginal birth (with no meds.... well the meds didn't work- I tried to get 'em!) and during the entire labor process I kept thinking "Pinch me! This isn't real!!" When Maeve came out it was the most surreal moment of my life! SUCH a high- she was SO real, but I still couldn't believe she was mine :) During the hospital stay, I was in such a state of discomfort (and overloaded on meds) that I don't even really remember too much- just ordering breakfast every morning over the phone like I was in the Ritz-Carlton! HAHA :) Anyways, nurses, my mom, Ryan, my sisters- everyone was taking care of her and pining over her that I didn't really do much in the first 4 weeks of her life. Then, once I finally healed (I wasn't completely, TOTALLY healed until about March-ish?? And I am still having issues but I'm not gonna get into that) I remember being so excited to do all the things that I had always imagined- dressing her in her little frilly clothes, playing with her in the sunshine, taking her shopping, etc. All I have to say is YEAH RIGHT! I mean, don't get me wrong- I do all of that with her, and then some! But its hardly that idyllic! Which brings me to my post today...

ALL in one day, I got peed on, pooped on, spit on, and head butted. I have never felt more like a mum! :) What a heck of a day. To be fair to my beauty, she is teething so she is a bit of a crab... BUT still- what a day. To start off the day, she was bouncing around in our bed- I had playhouse Disney on (I am desperately trying to get her to love Disney... so far nada) and she was happy as can be, smacking my chest- which she loves to do- so weird! I kept telling her "No. Thats not nice." But she kept at it... so then I decided to ignore her- haha. She head butted me- with ALL her force. Right in the schnoz! It felt like she pushed my nasal bones up into my brain. It was such a hard knock! She came out of it with yet another goose egg on her eyebrow (its not too bad) and I came out of it with a sore nose and a wicked headache. Move on to 2 o'clock or so; her nap, which normally consists of 2-3 hours lasted about 45 minutes or so- so I gathered her up, strapped her in the car seat and DROVE. My mom used to do this and I always thought she was crazy- who would want to just drive??? But by gosh, if it puts the kid to sleep, you'll DRIVE! :) It worked, it put her back to sleep for another hour (she desperately needed a nap- trust me!). We got home (after driving half way to Lansing and back) and she was fussing so I thought I'd give her a bath- she loves them and I felt bad for the teething babe. As SOON as I had undressed her she peed all over me- I think the last time I had been drenched in pee was when she was like 2 days old! :) And then it was like nothing! This stunk like people pee... yuck. Luckily, we were going in the shower, so it wasn't really a big deal (except that she had gotten it on my outfit). Haha... okay this next part is kind of funny- and someday Maeve will be so embarrassed that I wrote this- but we were sitting in the shower, I was reading a book to her- and she was having really bad gassers! Like left and right- she was tooting! I should have known it was coming, but I continued to read and laugh at her little rumbles...flash forward 5 minutes, I had a pile of poop on my lap. Nice visual huh? It was soooooo gross!!! We had to stand up and watch it wash down the drain, while I quickly gathered all of her toys out of the path of the poo poo.

DINNER TIME! My favorite time of the day- its when Ryan, Maeve and I all sit down and eat. We laugh about Maeve's crazy talk and usually have a glass of wine. Its so relaxing and very much needed at the end of the day (dinnertime rituals- not the wine...) anyways tonight I was on my own because Ryan had to work late- I started out feeding her green beans, (which she normally loves) but she was doing the whole head shaking "no" thing. So I switched to sweet potatoes- she was on the last bite when I guess she figured she was done- she spit them ALL over me- in my hair, in my eyes, up my arms- everywhere. Thankfully Ryan came home shortly after that episode and gave me a break. We ended up getting take out, good ol' Mexican food... and during the entire meal, Maeve screamed. She's just not having this whole teething bit.

Well, here I sit, with dried sweet potatoes in my hair, leggings (soooo mom-like), pounding headache and droopy eyes. Oh also- tomorrow we have our first official "play date" with a play group (I'm so excited!). Its the end of the day... thank GOD! I gotta jump in the shower and wash out the days grunge, but today, of all days, I've never felt more like a mom. :)

Bikes, Laptops and 2 Years of Bliss

Lovin' on my bug

Ryan showing off on his new bike
KISSES

Nice butt shot of me; NO I'm not expecting... my sweatshirt was blowing in the wind. :)
Looking pretty shnazy on my bike


*****Just a Note- I posted this awhile ago, but it somehow was incorrectly dated and so it went onto the bottom of the page... So now I am RE-POSTING it :)... but yeah I'm not losing my mind- our 2 year anniversary was last week not tonight.*****
Yea!!! We made it to our 2 year anniversary! Not much when you compare our parents (mine just celebrated their 26th!!!) but still, its quite an accomplishment. Its been a chaotic and crazy two years- a baby, a new house and more adjustments than I could possible count. But with every passing day/month/year, I find myself comprimising and figuring out what I should be, or want to be at least... and what I want to be is an awesome wife and an even more awesome mom. Really- those are my huge aspirations in life... to raise great children and to have a successful, happy relationship with Ryan.

Anyways, to celebrate our 2 year anniversary we decided to go out for dinner at the Beach Bar with my parents and Maeve :) We had an awesome night- good food and surprises- my mom and dad got us brand spankin' new bikes!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEA!!!!!!!!! We had been looking for bikes at garage sales but like always, my parents came through :) And the cherry on top of the bikes, was the baby bike seat for the bug!

Its a perfect green gift- and very economical too... We live pretty centrally- meaning, we have a grocery store, mall, party store all within biking distance... oh and some parks and my parents house. So we've decided on all weather permitting days, we will ride our bikes. And so far, for 3 days, we've stuck to it! We are bike riding maniacs! My butt hurts like nobody's business, but Ryan says it just has to get used to the seat... I hope so.

Oh, so the other big thing in my life right now (besides my bikes and my babes) is my NEW laptop I am typing on right now! It was Ryan's anniversary gift to me :) I feel like Carrie, from "S&TC" sitting here typing... all that's missing is a cigarette and a martini... instead I've got a leaking bottle and a burp cloth. Life with baby :)

To sum up, I feel like the luckiest lady. I have a husband who adores me and a beautiful, healthy babe. Life is good. :)

Sweet Moments....

Last night, after we had tucked Maeve into bed, I went in the bedroom and got on the internet and Ryan went in the computer room to play the guitar for a bit. After about 45 minutes, it was lights out at the McKenney house- I was laying in bed watching TV and Ryan was going around checking all the doors and turning the lights off. Maeves room is like completely adjacent to ours- its so close- you can practically see the crib. Anyways, I saw Ryan go in and adjust her blanket and kiss her goodnight (again!) and tickle her forhead for a few seconds. It was SO sweet. I am usually the one who is going in there constantly checking on her- it was just really adorable to see Ryan do that. Its such a simple gesture but all the same, it was cute :)

Muskrat Love

Today, after a fantastic time biking around town with Maeve & Ryan, I saw the the most horrible, gut wrenching thing. We were just pulling into our street when all of a sudden, right in front of us, a muskrat ran out and got hit by a car.... I've seen animals get hit before and its always sad, but this was completely awful- the muskrat was flopping and flailing around in the middle of the road- it was suffering, and it was suffering for a LONG time... there were no cars coming to put it out of its misery. :( It made me sick- really- I was gagging... I am just thankful Maeve isn't old enough to remember this... because how traumatic would that be for a kid?? As soon as we got home, I hugged my dogs a bit tighter... sometimes you forget the innocence of animals.

Ugh... also, a sidenote- I hate those freaking muskrats... they're sly, sneaky little things. In fact, my uncle was going to come over to our house to shoot the little butts because they build these tunnels underneath the porches... but I don't think I could ever allow that to happen now- I won't ever look at a muskrat the same... I now have muskrat LOVE:)

A Hundred Bucks Doesn't Get Ya Far

Ryan stocking the mini bar with our cake and champagne :) YES!!!

The Westin is famous for its giant "heavenly" beds. Yes, they're giant and yes they're heavenly... I had to show them off :)

SEXY CAN I??? Right... this is in the morning and I must say woooooo hooooo I am a looker!

Awww.... this is the top layer of our wedding cake... it got a little smashed in the car... but it was still the best dang cake ever!

Soooooo sleepy after the casino and dinner. I guess we're still on "Maeve" time or something! :)

Hello! I am back from our Detroit/Casino/Anniversary getaway! All in all it was a really pleasant time spent with my dearest and nearest. We left Jackson a bit late... and neither one of us had eaten lunch so we stopped in Ann Arbor and got some take out and ate it in the car- doesn't sound like a big deal right?? Well you're not going to believe this, but it was the FIRST time EVER, EVER, EVER that I had eaten a meal in the car. I've eaten a granola bar or a pop tart in the car, but I get extremely car sick so I've never tried actual "food". It worked out just fine though :) I did get a teeny, weeny bit nauseas, but I popped a pill and all was good :) Ryan was really proud of his wifey for chowin' down in the car :) He said it should speed things up on our next road trip- but nooooo, we will still be stopping and going inside for food. Anyways we got to the Westin, checked in, dropped our stuff off and headed for the casino. We got lost in Detroit (go figure that one) trying to find the MGM grand... so we just ended up going to the Motorcity Casino. We each took 40 bucks and found the 25 cent slots machines. I stuck in one of my 20's and on accident bid the max- it was like a 16 dollar bid!!!!! So in the first minute- no 20 seconds- of playing the slots I was already down $16.00. POO :( But I figured out how to work the darn thing and then both Ryan and I got really lucky- he won $40.00 (on top of the 40 he had spent) and I won $60.00 (on top of the 40 I spent) so we walked out of the casino with a profit of 100 dollars exactly :)

Like I said in the title to this post, 100 bucks doesn't get you too far- and in our case it didn't even cover our dinner... We ate at this super fancy resturaunt in the hotel called "Dema." It was good enough I guess, but when the bill came I about threw up everything I had just eaten... blah- for 2 of us our bill was over 90 bucks... there went our winnings!!!

As for our night in the actual hotel room, we ate our anniversary cake- (every year we get the top layer of our cake remade by the same guy who made our wedding cake... we're such saps!) exchanged cards and rented one of those "still in theater" movies. It really was very relaxing and we had some great bonding time :)
In the morning we put on these robes and walked around our room like we were kings and queens or something! We ordered this monstrous breakfast feast and ate in our pjs which was fun. And then the time came to check out and leave our fantasy world behind.

Today, I was slapped back into reality real quick- the house is a filth pot- floors need to be swept/mopped, there are groceries that need to be bought and I have a screaming, teething child clinging to my leg. I've got her morning applesauce stuck to my shirt and that nasty formula stink in my hair. Diapers are piling up in that dang diaper genie (why the heck they call it a genie is beyond me- don't genies make things disappear??? Because every single one of those smelly diapers is packed in there, waiting for me to dump them...) Welcome to mommyhood right? :) Ughh as unglamorous and filthy, stinky and frustrating as being a mom can be, it is REAL. And thats something that for so long has eluded me... I have this ultimate responsibility to raise a child and even though it scares the hell out of me, its something that I open with welcome arms and a learning spirit. So enough of the fantasy getaways and island dreaming... its time to be real with what I've got... and what I've got is more fulfilling than anything I could get from money or wealth.

Sorry to get so deep at the end of all that- I guess I should have just said I missed Maeve and am glad to be home fulfilling all my mommy duties. :)