UPDATE!!

It has been way too long in between posts. There is no excuse, except for the fact that I have been trying to keep my sanity. Summer used to be what you looked forward to as a child, as a much needed break from school. Being a parent however puts summer in a whole new perspective.

 Don't get me wrong, I love my babies with all my heart but after getting used to a 2 1/2 hour break everyday, then it suddenly stopping, kind of takes a toll on me. Madden is such a wonderful child and I wouldn't trade him for anything, but I can tell that he is bored and I literally don't have the gumption to put my whole heart and soul into entertaining him or Lainey. I will be brutally honest and say that there are many times a day when I kind of tune the children out and have some mommy time.  I have ALWAYS fed myself breakfast first before my kids. Doesn't that make me sound awful?? Honestly though, I get super sick feeling if I don't eat as soon as I get up. I do at least get Lainey a bottle of milk and make Madden a cup of milk to tide them over. Frankly the bottle is the only thing Lainey wants anyway so she is happy as soon as it hits her mouth. Then there is Madden who is NEVER in any big rush to eat unless it is chips or cookies, so he for sure could care less when I get around to making him breakfast. The system has worked without fail, and I feel blessed that my kids are so adaptable to the ever changing atmosphere's around them. Things could always be a lot worse and I know that I have it sooooo much better than a lot of other mom's out there.

So with Summer coming to a close (HOORAY!) and Fall just around the corner, this is when I am at my happiest and most zen. School will be starting soon and I know how much Madden is looking forward to it. We went up to see Mrs. Greiner at the new school yesterday and Madden and Lainey had a great time exploring everything. So much so that Lainey balled when I made her leave. I have never felt sad about taking Madden to school, as most parents feel sad I feel like I am doing the best possible thing I could do for him. He gets so much out of school that he would not be getting with me as a teacher and I don't feel bad saying that because it's the truth.

I have to take Madden to his 4 year check up in a few days and I need to talk to his doctor about getting him to the ophthalmologist for his eye, and about him possibly being on the Autism spectrum. Depending on how the visit goes I will get a better idea if we want to stay with the pediatrician we already have or seek out a new one. I have never LOVED my pediatrician as so many other parents do. I kind of long for the relationship that so many others have with their child's doctor, so I am giving her one more chance to reel me in and then I am out.

So that is a quick update and I will try and keep this up better in the days to come. I need to remember to blog so that my children can use this as a reference later in life!

Busy times ahead!

Well folks while it has been a quiet couple months of no traveling the Richards family is headin on the road again. First up a trip back to Alton for a much needed visit for the grandma's! The following weekend a trip up to Michigan to visit the Richards clan, then a much needed week off back in Cinci. Phew I am getting exhausted already, but oh wait then the weekend after that is the big trip to Atlanta. I will have more about that later in my write up. Then a week after that will be another trip back to Alton to celebrate me and my mama's birthday. June is going to be one big blur and I can only hope and pray that my children will be on their best behavior as they will be pretty much living out of their car seats.

I probably shouldn't be subjecting the kids to the car ride to Atlanta but hear me out on this. Once a year Thomas has a mandatory Actuarial seminar that he has to attend in order to get the credits he must acquire per calendar year to maintain his A.S.A. Wow that was a lot of words!! Anywho, when we found out that was going to be an annual occurrence I told Thomas that if it was in driving distance that we would try and make a trip out of it. Obviously if this conference was in California he's be leaving on a jet plane, but since this is Atalnta and when I mapquested it said it would only be a 7 1/2 hour drive I had to make a decision. Should we stay or should we go. Last year the trip was in Indianapolis, being that it was so close to home and Lainey was only a few months old I decided to see if my mom would be willing to come out and help me with the kids. That worked out wonderfully and while I was half tempted to see if I could have her or Cheryl come back out this time I chose not to in the end. I really love having my family unit and the thought of not having Thomas/Daddy around for a few days made me sad, of course this is my heart talking. My head on the other hand was saying, " ARE YOU NUTS!" Why would you want to put the kids through another car ride, and ultimately have to babysit them in tiny hotel room all by your lonesome for a good three days! I went back and forth on this for as long as I possibly could and asked Thomas repeatedly what he thought we should do. Of course he kept telling me over and over that he was good with whatever I decided. Thanks hon for all your help ; ) Finally it got to the point where Thomas had to let his work no either way whether he was going to be flying or not. So I said to Thomas, "Should I go with my head or my heart?" He replied "Heart." So we all know what that means, ATLANTA HERE WE COME! Yes, it is going to be pretty miserable while Thomas is at his conference during the day but I have a mall and Target within walking distance of the hotel. That can always keep me occupied. We will also be going to the Aquarium on Monday as a family, so we will have a little bit of family time through it all. I am going to make the best of it and make sure to give my kids a good experience through it all.

On another note tomorrow is Madden's last day of school for the year. It makes me sad to think that one year is already done, but I can't express enough how unbelievably important it has been in his development. He is talking more than ever and we are actually getting requests for things. I will admit that it has been a bit of a struggle with Madden for the simple fact that you want to be able to understand him, ecspecially as parents. For the longest time I kept wondering if it was something I was doing wrong, but in all actuality he did need help and the school district agreed with me. So here we are today with a much more communicative child and I couldn't be happier.

Here are a few of my favorite mobile photo's. Couldn't write a post without putting up a few pics!

It's been a while......

I had to jot down a few words just to let people know that I am still here! I am planning on catching up on here hopefully tomorrow. In the mean time a couple quick snapshots of my babes.

 As you can tell Madden is going through a silly smile phase. Ha!

Sissy at the park

With Madden being in school during the week, I usually have a good two and a half hour window of just me and Lainey time. Usually what I end up doing is running to the grocery store or post office since it is way easier to do those type of things with one child rather than 2. However, with the weather being so nice out recently I decided I needed to take my little lady to the park and let her get some play time. I remember taking Madden to the park for the first time and the excitement I felt just wondering what he would do, or what he'd play on. I haven't really had the chance to let Lainey loose at the park until this time so I took my camera and let her go. The differences between Lainey and Madden are like night and day. Madden did explore the park the first time we took him, but it was NOTHING compared to trying to keep up with Lainey. From the moment her feet touched the rubbery mat ground at the park she was GONE! I literally was running around after her, and it was funny because there was no rhyme or reason to which way she would go or what she would do, it was all very random. She is exceedingly more explorative than Madden was, and I am constantly looking for her in the house. Madden was so content sitting in one area and playing for long periods of time. Lainey however is going from room to room, picking up anything and everything and putting it in her mouth. I love them both so dearly, and I love the fact that they are so uniquely different from each other.

Here are a few pictures of our time at the park. I was lucky enough to catch her a few times in the process and get some cute shots in.

What a week..

Last week was one of the craziest week's in a long time for us here. Not only did we have a loved one go through a major surgery, but Thomas also had his actuarial exam. The good news on both fronts is that the surgery was successful and Thomas can have a little more time to himself now that the exam is done. Usually he gets a couple months in between exams where he doesn't have to study and he gets somewhat of a life back. I feel so bad for him, and I know how much he loathes all the studying he has to do, but thankfully one day in the near future he will be all done with these exams and can call himself an F.S.A. . I wonder if that means I can put those initails behind my name since I am married to him. Ha!

 On another note I got an official notice from Madden's school that there are only 4 more weeks of school left. AHH! I am terrified of not having my two and a half hours each day to get my things done. I know that sounds selfish of me, but it is hard for me to run to the stores when I am packing around 2 kids. Madden is at the age where he is getting too big to sit in the front of a cart, yet whenever we try and have him walk with us disaster strikes. He usually likes to run off somewhere and then when you tell him to hold your hand he throws a fit and pulls away from you. Such is the joy of having a three year old. I am going to look into getting him into some sort of summer program. I also fear that he will lag behind in his development without the constant stimulation he was getting at school. We'll see what happens and hope for the best.

 Lainey is doing well, and I am really enjoying the last week or so with her. She is kind of going through a mommy phase and when it gets close to night time all she wants to do is curl up with me on the couch and snuggle. It is the best thing ever. Madden went through phases of liking one of us over another but he never really was quite as snuggly as Lainey is. I sometimes wonder if it is a girl thing, because she will literally just sit there with me for a good half hour or so. Anyways, I am going to just absorb it all for as long as she will do it. I am starting to realize that the age the kids are at is so precious, and I really need to hone in and enjoy every minute of this special time. Soon they will be all grown up and not want much to do with good old mom and dad. :( While I know this is a long ways off, I also know that it really isn't that far off. Time goes way too fast and it is true that the older you get the quicker it goes.

 I will be posting pics from our photo shoot on my next blog! See you then!

Quick pic of the first shard bathtime of the babes!

Blessed

Feeling so blessed to be healthy, and have such a beautiful life. While I am not going to post much in the way of words I thought I would post a few of my favorite pictures.

These pictures serve as a reminder to me each and everyday that I am the luckiest mommy in the world.

2 posts in a week!

I can hardly believe it myself! It has actually been a pretty busy week here at our house. Monday was Miss Lainey's 1 year check up, and the stats went something like this:

Current Weight: 24 lbs. (80th percentile)
Current Height: 28 1/2 inches (50th percentile)

God bless her little heart, she has the shortest little legs in the world. I truly believe she is going to have my exact body type; short legs, long torso, big hips. She did really well throughout her appointment except when it came to the doctor's sticking things in her ear and mouth. Truthfully though who can blame her, I would be upset too if some stranger started sticking things in my ears and mouth out of nowhere. Then of course at the end came the dreaded shots. Poor thing had to get her TB test, which is a shot in the arm, and then she had to get another 3 shots in her legs. I will admit that she was a trooper, and even though she screamed out as it was happening she calmed down very quickly as soon as it was done. The rest of the day was the norm, except for some reason that night she had trouble sleeping and woke up multiple times in the night which we have not had to deal with for sometime now so it was pretty frustrating. I am sure she was just sore from the shots and was also maybe having nightmares from them as well. All in all I am always thankful that my babies are healthy and happy. It truly is all that really matters.


Today was quite an exciting day as well. I had to be at the dentist bright and early to get some work done, and as all of you know I am terrified of going to the dentist. I would go get a pap test everyday of the year rather than go to the dentist. I think my fears stem from the fact that I have ALWAYS had issues with my teeth, so I never really get the chance to go for just a cleaning, it is always a cleaning and let's do a root canal, or let's do 3 or 4 fillings. Which was the case today, I had to get 3 fillings. Now I will say that my fear of pain associated with dental work has gone away, and I will attribute that to 1) having had an abscess tooth before which is out of this world unbearable, and 2) having been through contractions with my children. The pain of those two things make me feel like anything less than that is a piece of cake. Anyways all went well with my dental work and the only real pain I had was the stupid numbing shots which left my mouth feeling like it was sagging to the floor for a good couple hours or so. I then returned home and gave Lainey a nap and got Madden ready for school. As we got to Madden's school, his teacher was at the drop off area and got Madden out of the car. As soon as she opens the door she says," There's my favorite guy." To which I replied, "We won't tell anyone," and then she said, " Oh I think they all already know, I can't hide it very well." It makes me SOOOOOO happy that my child is in such loving and caring hands. The fact that she goes out of her way to tell me how sweet he is, and how he melts her heart makes me so proud of my sweet little boy. Most mom's I am sure would dread dropping their kids off at school, but I know that he is in good hands and is learning far more then he could ever learn from good old mom. The last part of our day was a photo shoot for Miss Lainey bug. Jackie who does my pictures had asked if she could use Lainey to model off a bonnet she had just received. She thought with Lainey's big eyes and chubby cheeks she would look adorable. I of course was more than willing to drive her out to her house if it meant some more free photo's. The shoot went well but Lainey was not in the best of moods. I can't wait to get the pictures so I can put them up for all to see.

I am looking forward to dinner with my BFF tomorrow night. It is getting harder and harder to find time to get together so I very much cherish anytime that we possibly can. It's so important to keep those relationships in check because they need TLC just like any kind of relationship does. Once again thanks for chugging along with me and hope everyone has a lovely Thursday.

My kids like to be pushed around in old diaper boxes....(don't judge, Ha!)

We're Back!

After a far too long hiatus, I have decided to bring back our family blog. I figured this would be a good way for me to post more pictures than I normally would on Facebook, and post a few video's every once in a while.

Since the last time I posted was pre Lainey, I will start off by giving a little insight about my adorable daughter. Lainey just recently turned one year old and has big beautiful blue eyes, and light brown hair. She is a VERY good eater which is not at all what we are used to since Madden has always and still is a very picky eater. Every morning when I get up I go in and start making breakfast for the kids and me. Without fail, as soon as Lainey hears me rustling around in the cabinets she comes waddling in and starts whining until I give her something to munch on. There is no waiting around with this girl, either give her food ASAP or she will whine continuously until something hits her mouth. It is the cutest little thing when she waddles out of the kitchen munching on her little Gerber cookie. Unfortunately for her she seems to have taken after her mama and has a lot of movement to her hips. While this may cause issues as she gets older it is cute as can be for now. Lainey also is very mischievous and likes to get into EVERYTHING. This only causes me issue when I find her putting anything and everything in her mouth. Now while you may be saying to yourself, oh that's just a normal one year old. I want you to hold that thought when I tell you that Lainey has no trouble putting things like a clump of dog hair in her mouth. Most kids would automatically spit it out right? Not Lainey....she has to have you pull it out of her mouth because to her it is just another form of food. Oy!! God bless her for trying new things I guess. Ha! She is a very loving little girl and wears her heart on her sleeve, so don't let her know that you are angry with her or else you are looking at a 10 minute cryfest at the least. While in the beginning she was very high maintenance she has slowly become much more independent and much more well adjusted. She is slowly working her magic on daddy, and I can already see him getting wrapped around her finger. I look forward to the mother/daughter realtionship with her, and hoping it will resemble what my mother and I have. We shall see.


As for Madden, he is growing into such a big boy. As I look back at pictures of him even from a few months ago he is definitely going through a major growing phase. His face no longer resembles that little baby boy I brought home from the hospital three and a half years ago (HOLY MOLY it's been that long?) and he also seems to be getting taller by the day. While it is exciting to see him grow it is also very sad for Mommy. Madden really was such a happy, easygoing baby and I miss those days. Nevertheless, I LOVE hearing him say "Mommy" and ask me for help with things. Such as "Poopy on the Potty." Yes folks Madden is semi potty trained. He has the pooping on the potty part down, we just don't know how to get him to tell us when he has to go pee pee. I am sure whenever he does though it will go just as smoothly as the first pert of training has gone. It is so cute to hear him say "Bye Bye Poopy," as we flush the toilet. He has the sweetest little voice and is VERY loving. Of course he also has quite a temper and when things don't go his way WATCH OUT. He likes to jump up and down and scream at you which this mommy does not deal with. We spend a lot of time in our bed because that's where we get sent when we don't control our temper. Other than his few meltdowns a day he really is a good boy. He is in preschool now and has made great strides with his speech and with how he plays with others. I am so thankful that I got him enrolled and he is getting the help he needs to catch up with other kids his age. I will have plenty more to tell you as I hope to try and post at least twice a week.



I realized how important it is to write all these little happenings down. It is hard for me to keep up with all the milestones, and other such happenings so if I can just train myself to sit down 2 times a week and post about what has happened I figured my children will have a better idea of what their childhood was like. I also plan on keeping everyone updated on what is happening with Thomas and I as well, but for now I have to go and get some things done around the house! Stick with me guys and enjoy!

Oh, one more thing....a quick video of me trying to get Lainey to perform. As you will see neither of my kids want to listen to their mommy. Ha!