GO PENN STATE!!!

Our favorite time of the year has arrived! College football season and cheering on our Nittany Lions~ Go PSU! Both Chris and I went to Penn State though we didn't meet there...a lot of people think we did. He graduated from State College (main campus) while I graduated from a smaller branch named Abington (in Philly). My first Penn State football game was with Chris and it was quite the experience! I am not one to watch sports but I LOVE watching Penn State football. Of course we want our children to carry on the family tradition and graduate from PSU someday...actually Chris jokes that he won't pay for their college unless they go tot Penn State! We are very lucky that Chris' parents have season tickets or we wouldn't be able to visit state college to watch them from beaver stadium much at all. Thanks Mom & Dad! :)

Today was their first game of the 2008 season. We decided to stay home because we just got back from vacation and my family reunion is tomorrow. Plus Chris had some work to get done after being off for a few days. The Nittany Lions won by a blow out, 66-10!!!!!! Well they played Coastal Carolina but still that's a lot of touchdowns! We will be heading up next weekend to watch them beat Oregan State! I think Chris might take Ryan to the game this time. I will be staying at my in-laws watching the game on tv.

GO Penn State!

Look out! There's a new cub in the Nittany Lion den!

(we got Kara this onesie while visiting PSU in April)

Penn State fan from my head to my toes!

(Grandma High got Kara these cute booties!)

Happy Birthday, Dad...

OH NO! Did another year go by already??

I don't say this often enough....

Thanks for everything Dad! I love you!

Mommy Tips

Today was supposed to be a post about our vacation at the lake but unfortunately that post will have to wait. This morning my darling son decided to do something that almost caused me to cry out loud....something every mother hopes won't happen to her. Instead of crying, screaming or worse, going ballistic on him- I decided to take a picture and deal with the issue as calmly as possible. You know about the "Ryan Funnies"...well this one is called Ryan NOT Funny!

We all know what happened when I trusted Ryan downstairs by himself (yes, why would I trust a almost 3 year old!?? I ask myself this everyday.), so he has been locked up upstairs whenever I am up there. I feel so bad for having him locked up in his room during the day that at night, we leave the gate open so he can come over to our room if he needs us. His room is the furthest from our room now so I worry that I won't be able to hear him. I also make sure all the doors are closed to the other rooms to be "on the safe side" including his bathroom.

I woke up at 6am this morning to feed Kara and to my surprise (almost stepped on him!) found Ryan lying on the floor next to my side of the bed! I don't know if he even tried to wake me up or just decided to sleep there?! So Chris took him back to bed. I fed Kara, got everything ready for breakfast and went back to bed. When I woke an hour later, Ryan was smiling as he ran out of our bathroom. Crap. What was he doing up early again and what trouble did he find this time I asked myself? I would soon find out and trust me, it wasn't "pretty"....

I know you are all sitting there with you mouths opened wide and in disbelief...but yes, that's my make-up and yes, it is on my expensive glider! See the reddish stains? Yes, that's lipstick. And that yellow tube on the right hand side? Yes, that's a highlighter. Not sure where he got that...can only imagine where Chris left it last. *sigh*

It took several hours and lots of elbow grease to get it cleaned up. Thank God my cousin, Sahira, came over after her class. She kept him busy and away from me the rest of the morning.

So why the title? Well...just in case you find yourself in a similar situation, I wanted you all to know how I got it cleaned. I hope you never have to take my advice...

You will need rubbing alcohol and hairspray! Blot don't rub the stains. Trust me, fight the temptation to rub the stains away. It only makes it worse. I normally do not use hair products but I do have a small can of hairspray just in case I need it. So I wanted to say thank you "Big Sexy Hair" for helping me get the lipstick out! The rubbing alcohol from Target got the highlighter out immediately! To finish the job, I got out the heavy duty stuff. Woolite with Oxyclean. Worked like a charm and the chair looks like new again.

There you have it. My guilt for locking him up is completely gone and that gate will be a permanent fixture at his doorway from now on. I've decided to put the monitor in his room so we are able to hear if he needs us. It's sad that we have to do all this but we have no choice. He is still too young to be by himself roaming the house and his curiosity is at an all time high. Safety First!

another life experience lived....

Gifts and more...

Last Thursday, Chris and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary. Sadly, we did not plan something "special" for that night. Chris has been working late most nights and we were invited to attend the End of the Summer Picnic at Ryan's school. We were planning to attend as a family but at the last minute, Chris had to stay late. I decided to take the kids anyway. It was a bit difficult trying to get food, carry Kara and watch Ryan all at the same time but I managed.

Ryan was so excited to see Ms. Ashley and Ms. April. It had been almost a month since his last day at school and he asks me if he is going to see his teachers every day since. Boy does that tug at my heart to hear. It makes me happy to know that I chose the right school to send him to but it also makes me sad to hear that he would rather go to school then stay at home with me. I can't blame the poor kid though....at this time the needs of his baby sister are greater than his. I try my darnedest to makes sure we have "mommy/son" time but it's hard to accomplish that several times throughout a day. I also remind myself that it will get better as Kara gets older.

The picnic turned out to be a lot of fun. It was neat to see Ryan interact with his friends and watch him play/dance on the playground. He was a little shy when he saw Ashley and April but I could see the excitement in his eyes. We also got to meet Ms. April's new baby boy, Kyle Brady. He is so adorable! I hope to get together with Ms. April for play dates in the future.

Along with the yummy food, they had a concert with a band that plays kid songs. They reminded me of a cover band for the Wiggles! Ryan had a great time jumping and dancing!

mmmm....yummy food!

Kara can't wait to attend school in a few years! Peek-A-Boo!
The "fake" Wiggles band!
Go Ryan!
Ms. Ashley and Ms. April

I decided to visit my parents after the picnic so Chris could fix the window in the truck. Here are a few pictures from that visit.

Mommy and Kara

Mom-Mom & Pop-Pop Delp's new kitty. (Put a "t" instead of "k" and you have the word Ryan says instead- yes it is hard not to laugh! Gosh I hope he gets his consonants correct soon!)
When we finally arrived home around 8pm that evening, I was greeted with a big hug and kiss and these....
Chris always surprises me with Roses for our anniversary. He gave me two dozen this year...one for each child. He also created a basket full of yummy chocolates. So not good for a mommy trying to lose the baby weight BUT so good to indulge in after a stressful day with the kids. He also got my favorite Yankee Candle (Mackintosh Apple) and "us" a huge pack of D batteries! This is for the swing (we are going through them left and right lately)! haha...god I love him!

Not only did my wonderful husband give me a great gift on our anniversary but our children did as well. :)

Miss Kara slept 8 hours the night before and again that night!!!! Yes, you read that correctly! Only 9 weeks old and sleeping 8 hours! I feel like the luckiest mommy on earth! She went back to 6 hours but I am hopeful that she will get back to 8 in the near future. My children LOVE to sleep!

Ryan's gift was going poopy on the potty that morning and the following morning!!!!! This was huge because he has taken several steps backwards since my last potty post. He finally got the lollipop we told him he could have if he went poopy! Being the good mommy that I am, it was organic! Still sugar but makes me feel better that he isn't getting a lot of artificial ingredients. Slowly we are making progress in the potty department and I hope to have him completely trained by his 3rd birthday in November...cross your fingers! :)

We're back from the lake and...

...mommy is covered with mosquito bites all over her feet! :(
I've been using this product for the past two days. I seriously have at least 15 bites on both feet. Most on my left...including all toes! My poor mother-in-law also got attacked and has them not only on her feet but also on her ankles. I think Kara might have gotten one on the side of her cheek. Funny how the girls got bit but the boys didn't?! I guess our blood is sweeter. ;)

So we are home and even though the past week was fun and kinda relaxing, there is nothing like home sweet home. I finally got Kara to sleep (both kids are completely off schedule and I dread the next few days getting them back on) and I can't wait to climb into our comfy bed!

I promise tons of posts with pictures in the coming days. This past week was filled with a bunch of "firsts" for both kiddies.

Oh back to the bites...the anti-itch gel works but is only a temporary relief. Any suggestions on how to relieve the itch? Please lease a message in the comment section. I am going craaaazzzzyyy!!!!! :)

Happy Anniversary to us!

It was 4 years ago today that we were pronounced husband and wife. Our wedding day could not have been more perfect. It was everything we had hoped it would be and more. We were surrounded by our family and friends and their unending support and love.

Our new life together seemed to hit the fast lane after arriving home from our beautiful two week (much deserved!) honeymoon in breathtaking Hawaii. We celebrated our 1st anniversary moving into our new home and a few months later welcomed our first born, Ryan Christian. We were now a family. Oh what joy he brought to our lives! So much joy and happiness, that we decided to add to our family. A few months ago, we brought home our beautiful baby girl, Kara Ellasyn. Each day we look into our children's eyes, we are reminded of this special day and our love we have for one another. It only grows stronger as the years go by.

To quote the anniversary (Hallmark) card I gave you this morning...

Those marriage vows? We meant them.

Life's ups and downs? We've lived them.

The rest of forever? To be continued, with love.

We have been through a lot in the past four years (most within the first year of our marriage), but it has only made our marriage stronger. I love the life we've built, the family we created through our love and most of all I love you! I can't wait to see what the future holds for us and our family.

I couldn't imagine walking this journey with anyone else.

You are the love of my life!

Happy 4th Anniversary, honey!

Pictures of the Day

Mommy's favorite time of the day....NAP TIME!

Kara all cozy in her bassinet.

Ryan thought the floor was the best place for a nap that day!

Ryan Funnies

Ok- this one is something Ryan did this morning, not something he said. I almost didn't create this post because I was afraid that some would think I was a bad mommy...but then I realized that my mommy friends probably have similiar stories as does my mom and mother-in-law. So here it is...another Ryan Funny:

My morning schedule goes something like this.

After Kara's early morning feedings (usually around 6am), I get Ryan's breakfast ready and leave it on the table for him. Reason being he usually gets up when I am in the middle of Kara's second feeding. I also leave the tv on PBS so he has something to watch while eating. Yes, put me in the bad mommy club now...I use the tv as a babysitter in the mornings!

This morning I was so tired that completely forgot and went back to bed. When I woke up an hour later I realized that I hadn't prepared breakfast for him and went downstairs to get everything set up.

Well, guess who I see when I get down there?!

Yep, Ryan High. Sitting on the couch watching Jerry Springer and eating pretzels that Daddy left out from the night before!!

Of course I replaced those pretzels with cheerios and an apple cereal bar and switched Jerry to George (the monkey) immediately!

I guess it could have been much worse...he wasn't jumping up and down on the couch shouting "Jer-ry...Jer-ry!" while eating potato chips! :)

I got tagged...are you next?

I've been blog-tagged! I believe I was tagged before by Margie but I never got a chance to play along. Sorry Margie! This time my friend Christy tagged me and the game is too funny not to participate. If you get a chance, please read Christy's tag...it's hilarious!

This tag game has to do with your first name and the word "needs"...

what you have to do is, go to google (or your other preferred search engine) and type in your first name and the word "needs" following it. then sit back and laugh at the funny things that come up. post the first 10 hits you get and then tag your friends. here's what I found when I typed in "Bobbi needs"...

1 - Bobbi needs...a new doctor. (I've seen the same doctor since the age of 3...that's 29 years...I think I will stick with her)

2 - Bobbi needs...a new doctor. (Do they know something I don't know?? I hope Dr. Murphy is alright!)

3 - Bobbi needs...Hobbits Hollow! (What?! Ok this is actually another blog by a Bobbi called Hobbits Hollow...she participated in this fun game back in 2005. boy were there some funny things in google back then!)

4 - Bobbi needs...a date. (Yes, I will be the first one to admit that I do need a date...with my husband!!! Any babysitters out there?!)

5 - Bobbi needs...to knock off the drugs or start taking them! (Hmmm...I am so not a pill popper, can't smoke and hate needles. The only prescription I'm on lately is prenatal vitamins!)

6 - Bobbi needs...some serious help! (I'm not gonna lie. yes, I do.)

7 - Bobbi (and the strays) needs...a new home. ("the strays" made me laugh! I prefer to call them family members. I would agree that a new home would be nice. It's a dream of ours to build our own someday...)

8 - Bobbi needs...a tent revival. (ummm...had to Wikipedia this one. All I have to say is that I prefer to pray in my little church up on the hill, thank you.)

9 - Bobbi needs...to send invites to Bert, Ernie and Sandy. (don't know who Sandy is but Bert and Ernie are invited over anytime! I am sure Ryan would love a playdate with them!)

10 - Bobbi needs...to get over her lover more privately. (OH MY! how did that get on there? LOL)

Ok, that's my "I need" list...I now tag the following people to post their own:

Jenni , Kate, and Margie ~ Have fun girls!

Fun Day

Last week I received a text message from Lauren saying she had off on Monday and did I want to go to the Park City Mall? Didn't take me long to respond with a resounding YES! As stated in a previous post, I don't enjoy shopping anymore...unless I have an extra set of hands to help! It can be very exhausting to say the least...still can't believe Lauren was up for the challenge! This was a great opportunity to a) get Ryan out of the house b) do some shopping and c) get some good exercise from walking the mall. I was excited and ready to go when Lauren got to my house this morning. We actually spent 3 hours there and had a pretty good time...well there were a few rough patches with Ryan but all in all it was a successful trip. Ryan got a chance to play at the indoor play gym and I got a few fall items for the kids and myself. Thanks for spending your day off with us Lauren...hope you had a great nap...after Oprah of course!

Future rock climber? Start with your fruits and veggies first...

Oh the things you could do with that box of crayons!

Where is Ryan?

Fountain Fun! - I think we threw in at least 15 cents worth of pennies!

Oh what a night...

I think I've already said in a previous post that I see a wonderful sibling bond forming with Ryan and Kara. It is a beautiful thing for a mommy to experience and I hope they continue to grow closer and love one another as the years go on. What I haven't told you all is that I also think they have formed an alliance against me!! There have been days where they cry at the same time, have crazy poops at the same time...I could go on and on with how they as a team always seem to surprise me with something. So last night RKA (aka the Ryan & Kara Alliance) were ready to attack and poor mommy didn't see them coming! hahahaha

My crazy evening started with Kara's final feeding at 11:30pm. I put her to bed around 12:15am. After several trips up and down the hall checking on everyone and getting things set up for the next day, I finally went to bed around 12:45am. Yes, I know it sounds silly but I have to check on Ryan several times before I go to bed. This is a ritual I've been doing for almost 3 years now...just making sure he is not stuck between the rail and bed, too hot, too cold, etc. Then of course I have to do what all mommies of newborns do, make sure Kara is breathing and comfortable as well.

At 3:13am (I checked the clock) I was awoken by Ryan hitting my arm. He scared the crap outta me because he has never woken me up in the middle of the night before. He wasn't crying, wasn't poopy (I usually can smell that a mile away!) nor did he have a fever. I figured maybe he had a bad dream and couldn't go back to sleep. He said, "Up please mama." So I put him in the bed (this is the first time he has ever asked to be in bed with us) and I went back to sleep. After what seemed like only a few minutes of sleep, I woke up with a kick to the leg. I look over and there is Ryan (deep asleep) completely up against me. We have a king size sleep number bed so there is plenty of room for two adults and a small child! I move him into the middle of the bed once again and doze off. Several minutes later I get an arm to the head! Ouch! There he was again sleeping up against me. Now this is getting ridiculous. Why can't he stay in the middle or if he is going to roll, then why can't he hit his father instead?!

I move him over again and tell myself that if I get hit one more time, he is going back to his own bed. I finally get comfortable and ready to fall asleep when I hear Kara start to grunt. Oh no. Why is she getting up now? I try to ignore her, hoping she will go back to sleep. Nope. It is now 3:54am and she is up. I get out of bed, pick her up and can tell in an instant that she is hungry. Where did this come from? She hasn't gotten up for a feeding before 5am in weeks?! I assume she's still recovering from her shots and go into the nursery to feed her. Twenty minutes later Ryan wonders into the nursery. Guess he missed his punching bag! I tell him to go into his room and I will be in as soon as I get Kara back to sleep.

When I finally get into his room (it is now 4:37am), he is sitting on his bed wide awake. I ask him why he isn't sleepy? He just stares at me. Hmmm...not knowing what could be wrong, I decide to lay down next to him. Hopefully this helps him go to sleep. I was about to fall asleep in his bed when I get the famous tap on the arm. I open my eyes to my son just inches from face (got me again! I swear he is going to give me a heart attack!) and he says, "I'm yucky mommy." What? "pee!" OH! So I change his diaper and WOW there was a lot of pee in there. Guess daddy shouldn't have given him that 3rd glass of milk at dinner! Poor guy! I clean him up, give him a kiss and head back to my bed. It is now 5:08am....gosh I hope Kara sleeps until at least 7am. Nope. She is up at 6:23 on the dot and ready for the day! I get up defeated and pray for a nap later today.

The good thing is maybe now Ryan realizes that he doesn't like to be wet and will ask to go (or just go himself) to the potty! Only time will tell....

Oh for those who are wondering if I got that nap?
Nope. Alliance - 1 Mommy - 0 :(

Happy 2 months!

Kara turned 2 months old on Thursday, August 14th. I still can't believe how fast this summer has flown by? Every year seems to go faster than the last. Boy what a difference a month makes. Kara has definitely become more aware of her surroundings. Gone are the cranky crying days and hello to smiles and cooing/ahhhing. Kara loves to play in her activity gym. She also holds her head up really well and we are excited to put into the bumbo soon!

On Thursday, I took pictures of Kara in her 'coming home' dress. During my last few months of pregnancy, I was on a mission to find the perfect outfit to bring her home in. My search ended Memorial Day when my sister Tara gave us the cutest dress. I just knew it was the one for Kara to have her first picture in and wear home. It's a "newborn" size, but Kara was so little at birth that it practically drowned her. She hasn't had another opportunity to wear it since and I felt bad that it's been just hanging in her closet. So Thursday, I decided to put her in it to see if she fit it two months later. She did and it looked even cuter the second time around. WOW- how's she grown in just two months! Check out the comparison photos below:

Kara High ~ June 2008

Kara High ~ August 2008

and just because she was quite the poser for her mama...here are a few more!

Isn't she precious?!
Ok Mom- I'm done posing now.

Yesterday (June 15th) was Kara's 2 month wellness visit. These are never fun for me...well not really for the kids either except Ryan, he loves to visit the doctor! We were very excited to finally find out how much she grew in the last 6 weeks. We thought she was around 8.5 pounds and grew another inch. Boy were we wrong!!! Kara now weighs 10 lbs. 6 oz. and is 22 3/4 inches in length!! At 2 weeks old, she was only 7 lbs. 4 oz. and 20 1/2 inches long. She gained over 3 lbs and grew over 2 inches in six weeks!

Along with the normal check up items, comes the dreaded shots. Kara received 3 in her thighs and 1 oral vaccine. Ryan, who was very upset that this visit was for Kara and not him, (do you think we have a future doctor on our hands? I mean he really is obsessed with doctors and he never cries when he gets his shots?! Crazy!) was starting to act out as we waited for the nurse to return with the vaccines. I was already upset for this poor little girl (I hate pain and needles) who kept smiling at me as she lay on the table. Finally I couldn't take it anymore (plus Chris was getting frustrated with me because I had already started to cry just thinking about the pain she was going to be in!) and I took Ryan out in the hall to wait instead. We watched the nurse go into the room and a few minutes later heard the screams....it broke my heart to hear her wail like that. She was pretty much cranky the rest of the evening and I swear she did a marathon of nursing last night. She would nurse for an entire hour and only take an hour break before wanting to eat again...Mommy was exhausted after all those feedings, but it was worth it because she was back to her old self today. Her next wellness visit is in October.

Cranky Kara after her doctor visit...poor girl. :(

Oh and taking band aides off babies is not fun! Look at those chubby thighs!!

It's a "Joovy" kind of day!

We received our new stroller last week and I couldn't wait to take it out for a test drive. Chris put it together on Saturday and we decided to give it a try at the local mall later that evening. We were a little worried if Ryan would stay on the back of the stroller. He did well except for when he would see a store he wanted to go in (the book and toy stores!) and jump off the back while in motion. We had to explain to him several times that he must ask first if he wants to get off. He isn't a fan of boo-boos so when I told him that he could get a boo-boo if he fell, he pretty much stayed on after that! :)

I told myself that I would take the kiddies for a walk everyday (as weather or time permits)once the stroller arrived. Sunday, Lauren came over for lunch and then we got a quick walk done in between rain storms. We had a bit of cold front come through over the weekend and we had an interesting few days of fall like weather. It was a welcome change from the record 90 degree weather we've had in July and early August. It was very strange to wear sweatshirts in August though?!

Monday morning I fed the kids, packed some water for Ryan and I and headed out for another walk around the neighborhood. It was still 60 degree weather that morning so I had to make sure they were both bundled up. Kara looked so cute in her sweater jacket (it was Ryan's when he was baby- it's nice to be able to reuse it for Kara now).


Ryan can sit or stand. So far he prefers to sit except when he wants to play with Kara's feet!


Cozy baby and silly boy!


She sure loves her car seat!

Tuesday was a day of rest! I had a few errands to run and that's enough exercise for me after taking both shopping by myself. I get a great arm workout with lugging Kara in her car seat around and great leg work as I try to keep Ryan from running all around the store! Sadly, I don't look forward to shopping anymore! :(

Today, Lauren came over again for lunch (Lauren-thanks for the yummy pizza and watermelon!!) and a walk. She and her fiance have started the process of finding their first home and were thinking about purchasing a home in our area. We decided to go check out a few because they were within walking distance from my house. We started our walk with a trip to see a small pond with duckies. I brought some bread so Ryan could feed them. It was fun to watch him feed the ducks and see the excitement in his face as they would come close to get the food! We thought the houses wouldn't be too far but we ended up taking a VERY long walk. We walked at least 2 miles which isn't too bad but when half the walk is uphill, that's tough with pushing two little ones in a stroller. The Joovy is 21 pounds (and we got the ultralight weight one- can you image the weight of the original Joovy?!), add a 30 pound little boy and 8 (we think) pound baby and you have almost 60 pounds of weight!! Lauren and I were very sweaty and tired at the end of that walk. Both Kara and Ryan were ready to be done by the end as well. I am sure I will feel the pain tomorrow but it was worth it. I think we might stick to our normal course next time and visit the playground!

Our community ducks!

Ryan really enjoyed feeding the duckies!

I'm HUNGRY!

I DON'T WANT TO GO HOME!

We ALL had a good rest after this walking adventure!

Kara's Announcement

After Ryan's difficult birth, long recovery and lack of energy from being a new mom, I never got a chance to send out birth announcements for him. It really bothered me that I never took the time to send something special out to our close friends and family. When we found out that we were having baby # 2, there was no doubt in our minds that we would create and send announcements after Kara's birth. I also came up with the idea to have Ryan be the one "announcing" his baby sister's birth, this way he would be a part of the process too.

I decided a few weeks ago to start the process of creating Kara's announcement. I emailed my good friend, Christy D. (queen of baby/wedding research- always knows where to find bargains and which websites offer the best deals!) to see if she could recommend a good site to find baby announcements at a great cost. She emailed me back with a few options to look at but at the end of her email she stated that she would be more than happy to put something together for us if we would like her to....

I knew from reading her blog, that she was starting a side "business" of making wedding/baby favors but what I didn't know is that she also did invitations/announcements. She told me to check a few sites, get some ideas and she would be able to recreate it for a fraction of the cost and of course offer free shipping (aka drop them off to us!). Now who can turn down an offer like that?! So after many proofs later (also a feature you can't do at the websites- it's a once and done thing!), we created the perfect announcement!

She was also nice enough to create matching (absolutely adorable!) return address labels! Christy is one of the reasons that I decided to start my own family blog. Her blog is amazing! I encourage everyone to please check out Christy's blog (click here) to view more of her creative creations! I can't thank her enough for all her help! We will definitely be using Christy again when it's time to send out Kara's baptism invites. :)

8.8.08

8 is my lucky number! I can still remember learning to write it as a kindergartner and I loved practicing the curves and swoops. Even today it's a fun number to write! :)

So to celebrate I've decided to do 8 posts on 8.8.08! Kinda crazy idea but fun!

Happy August 8, 2008- we will never see this combo again!

(A big THANK YOU to my wonderful husband for taking the kids every other hour to allow me to create this unique and fun post! I love you, honey!)

#8 ~ Support Jenni's Music!

Jenni's music is beautiful and inspiring! I plan to buy several albums and give a few out as gifts! She has her album Key of Sea on sale for $9.99 until August 17th. She is also offering FREE shipping and FREE autographing as well. I plan to take advantage of this awesome offer and hope you will too! Please visit her website for more information and to also listen to her beautiful music!



Jenni and her husband, Will live near Seattle, Washington. They were blessed with the birth of their first child, Preston William, on June 13th. Preston is only a day older than Kara!