S'Mores

They do work (if you read the last post)--we did 10 seconds--just about the time the marshmallow started to puff up big. S'mores are good (mine was delicious) but sometimes, 4 year olds just want the marshmallows more. : )

Are you still there.....?

I know you may be wondering if we are, so this is an update. We are still alive. For some reason, there hasn't been too much excitement lately. Well, I take that back--I did have a great birthday spent with friends. I guess I haven't written about it , not because it wasn't a nice evening with friends, but because for some reason, 33 just doesn't seem noteworthy. It just means another year older.

I think too, the weather has been playing a part in my lackadaisical attitude. Rain, Rain, Rain everyday. While I usually love a rainy day, as our friend Matt said: When did College Station become Seattle? Yeesh! Yesterday we picked up Ry and then went to Cotton Patch for dinner--all was well until in the middle of dinner, it started pouring. And I don't mean it was raining hard, I mean it was torrential. It was monsoon-like. We had parked about 10 feet from the door and just to run and get in the car, we were completely soaked. Urgh. Then driving home was a real treat...25 miles per hour on the highway. That was literally all you could go. The dumb rain has even kept our house from being painted. Each day it rains it pushes it back which is kinda stinky as we are ready to have it done!

I do have something exciting coming up in a couple of weeks though. I'm taking a couple of photography classes from a gal in Bryan, Shauna Maness. Her website is http://www.shaunamaness.com/ and I heard about her from one of Chris's mom's friends. Her stuff is super artsy and the kind of stuff I really like, so I'm hoping to come away with some good info. and a great time (plus one of the classes is on a school day, so I'm playing hooky--how great is that?!). I'm hoping it will give me a little jump start to take a little time off for me to do something I really like to do. : )

So that's about it--we are still here. The cross country team hasn't been doing that great so Chris is gone every Saturday all day and it isn't even fun for him (or me). Ryan is doing great--she's into math (today) asking how much 8+10 is and so on. We are going to attempt s'mores tonight in the microwave (another friend of ours said she has done it and they are great)--we'll see how that goes!! : ) Hope all of you out there are still doing fine too! (below is a quick pic from my b-day--before the shenanigans and bowling!) : )

A Terrible Morning

So you guys with kids over 4 know this, but this is a lesson for those of you who have young kids or who may not have kids yet but will. Here are a few take away tidbits in case you don't have time to read this whole story. Kind of like on CNN where in the upper right hand corner, they give you the summary. Here goes:
1. Always schedule "yearly checkups" at the end of the day or in the afternoon where you can go home afterwards.
2. Bring extra bandaids--preferably Hannah Montana....even if your child has never seen the show.
3. Allow for at least one and a half hours for the "check up". It will be at least that long, probably longer.


Back to the action:

So yesterday morning was Ryan's 4 year checkup. They had relatively few openings (probably because every kid in College Station has a sinus infection, and most of their parents I might add) so when they finally said 8:20 on Tuesday? I gave in and said that would be fine. I figured, I should be able to be at school by 9:10 (2nd period). Ryan also has dance class at 9am at her school. I figured it would be no problem getting her there at least close to on time.

I figured wrong! The first part of the appt. was great--vision, hearing, develpmental, height, weight--the usual. No problem. We meet with Dr. Saenz. Great--no issues. We are doing good on time--8:40. He does say in the appt. that Ryan needs 5 shots. (what?!?!) Okay....I haven't prepped Ry for that on purpose, thinking she would freak out and also, I wasn't sure how many. (Five?!?! Are you sure Dr. Saenz??) So we start to wait, and wait, and wait. 9:15 finally brings the nurses (2 one to give these gifts of pain and one to hold her legs). Mom, you get to hold the arms. Be ready for this. It sucks.

So the five (yeesh--really!?!?) shots finally are done, and Ry has completely LOST it. (who wouldn't?) She's bawling, hollering "it hurts!" (no kidding!) and it is time to go. But her legs hurt. She doesn't want to walk. She doesn't want to be held-everything hurts. Eventually, with much crying, we get outside. Where it is raining and we need an umbrella. And patience for me. Ry's still going crazy. I finally tell her that I'll have to take away her lollipop if she can't stop crying (I am or at least felt like, a terrible mom). So we eventually make it to the car where the shots are bleeding through her pants. (DRAMA!! Ryan calls it "bleeting"--like a sheep?) Anyway....

We have to stop for more bandaids--thank God in that moment for Hannah Montana. She's never seen the show, but it made her happy to buy them. We get in the car. We get to school. Ry's doing okay now. Still legs hurt, but otherwise, not bawling. We talk about her new stamp kit (thanks again to Walgreens where we got the bandaids). The stamp kit we had to buy because Ry was so upset because (double whammy) she missed dance class.

We get to school. And here it comes again. Ry loses it all over again because I have to go to work. I get there at 10am. The worst morning. : (

So just a quick review: appts end of day, extra bandaids, and allow for lots of time. So all of you out there with older kiddos, keep passing on those tidbits of information to us newbies--we need all the help we can get! : ) p.s. Ry is feeling just fine today! Sore legs, but just fine! Thank heavens!

Superheroes!!!

Ry had a great birthday party this past weekend with her best buddy Cade--as you frequent readers know, it was a super hero themed party--and the kiddos were so cute!!! Nearly all of the kids came dressed up and it was ADORABLE!! The kids had a great time (so did the parents I think!--the husbands found out that it was super fun to throw a nerf football so that a running dive into the foam blocks was necessary--actually, that was mostly Chris now that I think about it!!) : )

Ry and Cade

"Listening" to the Rules of PowersportsThe super cute cake made by our friend Lindsay

My mom is coming in for Ryan's birthday weekend (the real bday is Saturday) so Ryan's special "day" just keeps on going and going! What a dream for a 4 year old!! A fun, dress up party with all of her friends from school and family friends PLUS a second party with the fam--can I do this when it's my birthday? : )

Birthday Bonanza!

So today is Ryan's 4th birthday party (I know, can you believe it?). She is having a hard time understanding why she isn't 4 today--her actual birthday is the 19th. We decided to have a joint party with one of Ryan's best friends, Cade (also turning 4). So we figured out the best weekend between their birthdays (Cade's is the 29th of Aug), factoring in when Chris has cross country meets and when there is a home Aggie game, etc. So, today's the day--of the party that is! She has been very excited as it is a superhero party. Check out the invitations our friend Patrick made:

Then of course, we had to make great party favors--thanks again to Patrick for the nametags (each kid's name is on the back) and then I made the masks. There are a few little things inside too.

If I were a kid, this would be the party to be going to! They are all dressing up as superheroes, and on top of that it is at Powersports, which is a completely fun time for the kids and parents! Ry's costume is too cute and she keeps asking when she can put it on (super girl!)!

Can't wait to get the cake too--our friend Lindsey is making it for Ry and Cade. I'll have to blog the party later--right now, I've got to get to the store for more elastic for the masks! : ) Calling all Superheroes--we are having an elastic shortage at the Kovacs House!

G for Great Day

Ry and I were looking at blogs and Ry said that she wanted to write on ours. So she said, "Hey, let's write about a great day. G for great day."

This is Ryan's story about great days: "Great days are so much fun and um I play with Ashley because she's my best friend and she plays with me so much even Cade plays with me all day and we play so much together everyday and I play with them everyday even mornings." (all in one sentence).

And now she says she's done. So that's it. A typical Ryan story just in time for bedtime.

Hope you all are having a great day too! : )

Italy

We were fortunate this summer that Chris and I were able to get away for our 5th anniversary to Italy. We had such a great time enjoying the history, scenery, people and each other. Check out some of these great pics:

At the Michelangelo Piazza overlooking the city of Florence

One evening at the Colosseum

During our tour inside the Colosseum

In St. Peter's square just before our Vatican tour

It truly was a great trip--tough to be gone from Ryan for so long, but thankfully my mom and Chris's mom could watch her for the week while we were there!

We had such great meals while we were there and the people were so friendly (one reason why we didn't go to France)! There is so much to see and do in Rome--the churches alone could take a week! The metro (subway) is easy to navigate and seemed safe (so far as we knew!) and overall, it was a perfect trip--aside from our sore feet and legs from wanting to see and do everything in just a few short days!! : ) Yay for Italy!