He's home!!!!

Riley made it on the bus and home safe and sound!!! My mom said I have more of a problem with separation anxiety then Riley! :)

I started to tear up again when I hugged him!!! I told him I missed him and he said he missed me too!! He is the sweetest!!! Grant run up to him and hugged him and said he missed him!!! One of Riley's classmates is a new neighbor in the 'hood! Jeff was going to carry his back pack for him and he wanted to wear it!! I asked him if he had a good day and he said, "I had a fantastic day!" He also wanted to know if Daddy and Grant cried too today.....nope, just Mommy!!

He came home, had a snack and now they are both watching Monsters, Inc. It will be early bedtimes for both the little guys! Now, I need to find some chocolate...today has been way too stressful for this momma!!

I am happy my little guy is home today!!! I literally watched the clock until we went to the bus stop!!

No turning back now

As I type, it is 8:40 and exactly an hour ago we were in car pool getting ready to drop off my firstborn for his first day of kindergarten!!! He came down for breakfast ready to go...dressed and all!!!

Picture of Riley and Grant before leaving for school (I think he wanted to bring his Bible to school with him.)

A picture before getting in the car

Waiting in carpool line for the dreaded drop off. Jeff is taping him and Riley keeps looking at me since the tears started to flow!

The dreaded drop off!!!

I am excited to hear how his day went and how he liked the bus ride home!! Hugs to all you mommas who are sending your kids off to school today!!!

Some summer fun.....

Summer fun, having a blast. Summer fun, happened so fast.....Okay, I will stop now. Anyone remember what movie that is from? One of my all time favorite classics!!!



Before the school year started, we wanted to head to the beach for some fun. The boys have been asking all summer if we could go to the beach, so we did! Since it's all about the kids right! :) We went to Hilton Head, SC for along weekend!





Daddy did most of the entertaining at beach and gave Mommy a break so I could soak up some rays. Although, the boys are at the age now where we can sit and just watch them play in the sand. Needless to say, the boys LOVED the beach. They actually love anywhere there is water to play in!

Kindergarten Open House

Today was Riley's Open House for kindergarten! He was so excited and could not wait to meet his teachers! We had some paperwork that needed to get done before visiting his classroom and he was not very happy about waiting. We had to sign-up for the PTA, get his rest mat, put money on his lunch card, get all his bus info and then finally we made out way down the halls to his classroom. He got to meet some classmates and of course his teachers. We met his music teacher also. I was definitely overwhelmed by the whole process.

Our neighborhood is the first stop for the bus....6:46am...needless to say Riley will not be on it in the AM but he will ride home! We will be doing carpool for drop off! I am not sure how many kids will be at the bus stop!

I told Riley that I might be sad on Monday when he goes to school and he told me, "It's ok Mommy, I will be back." Where did the last five years go....I thought I was looking forward to some free time and now I am not so sure!

Grant will start pre-school in September and he will be going for three days! I think it is all finally starting to sink in that I will have a few hours with no children...again not sure how feel about that!

The next few weeks are going to be an adjustment for our family! It will be interesting to see how Grant adjusts to not having his big brother around so much during the week.

Happy 3rd Birthday Grant!!!!!

Me and my boys the day we brought Grant home....

Grant at 9 days old

Three years ago, Grant entered our lives and the world!! I am not sure I really believe that he is 3, since that means he's not a baby anymore and it throws me for a loop that at his next birthday he will be 4!

Grant is our Tennessee baby....I remember when I thought I was pregnant...I was a little nervous about being pregnant. Why? We had just moved to Tennessee that May, moved into our first house at the end of June (we closed on our house on Jeff's bday...he was on a business trip so my Dad came with me to the closing, I think Riley was with my grandparents.), and Riley was only 18 months old. I was more nervous about the age gap between the two kids, being so close together, than anything else. So yes, my children are 27 months apart.....not what I really had planned but Someone else had other plans for our family! We figured we would start trying for another baby, thinking that it would be a few months before we actually got pregnant, esp. since it took us a while with Riley, again Someone else had other plans! When I thought I might be pregnant I called my girl, Kristan, since her kids are 2 1/2 years apart. I remember Kristan telling me it would be hard for a little while but will get easier....don't you love when someone doesn't sugar coat things for ya!! I took a test even before I was late, and my intuition was right, we were having another baby!

My first trimester, I had morning sickness and was tired....poor Riley was propped in front of the tv most days. Talk about mommy guilt, friends would remind me that it was temporary and not to beat myself up about it. My mom came to visit in August, I think I was only 6 weeks along and not quite ready to share our news. We went to one of our fav places to eat and Mom wanted to get a margarita I think, I wasn't quick enough to think of something to say and just said no, of course she asked why, and I just looked at her and her knew why. She was very excited! Dad found out a little bit later and I think it was a safe time to tell him when he found out. We were at his house for dinner with the family, and he mentioned to me that Betty thought that I looked like I was losing weight. He just chalked it up to me starting to workout again. I told him she was right that I was losing weight since I had morning sickness and we were having another baby!

We didn't find out what we were having when I was pregnant with Riley, but with Grant we did in case we had to do some shopping. :) I was really hoping for a girl going into my ultrasound appt around 18 weeks. The tech was having a hard time finding out the sex, so we started pushing on my belly since she thought that might reveal something and it did! I was the first to notice and said it's a boy before the tech could announce it. Needless to say, I was happy he was healthy but a tad disappointed it wasn't a girl.

I have never felt so HUGE in my life and gained more weight with Grant than with Riley. I remember looking at a picture that was taken at my Dad's the weekend of Easter and my shirt just barely covered my belly!!! YIKES!!! Grant came into the world shortly after that picture was taken....thankfully! :)

I was induced again since I felt that I would pop any minute...I was miserably uncomfortable and felt like Grant was going to be way bigger than Riley was. Riley spent the night with Grandma and Pee-Paw since I had to be at the hospital bright and early. Mom and Bob were on their way from NY. Things progressed slowing as the day went on and we had some issues with Grant's heart rate. When I had a contraction, Grant's heart rate would go down. So the nurse put a probe on Grant's head to monitor him and changed the way I was laying...she thought the cord could be around his neck. So that made me a little nervous. I don't remember when she told me (because I am a bad mother and did not journal his birth, so Grant will be on Oprah one day saying how I messed him up by not documenting his birth!) but she told me you will be ready at 4pm. Around 4pm, I remember saying to Jeff, this baby is coming, go get the nurse. Ten minutes later, we were introduced to our little boy. And yes his cord was around his neck but he was ok.

He is the child that likes to toe the line...so I am in trouble!!!!

When he is sweet, he is sweet and when he is being a bear, he is unbearable!! I wouldn't trade him for the world! Even though, I may not have a girl, I just love my boys...boys are soooooo sweet and loving!! And no, we are not going to try for girl, we are done!! A day doesn't go by when I don't get a hug, a kiss, our a spontaneous "I love you Mommy" which makes the difficult days a little bit easier to handle!

Happy Birthday Grant (aka Peanut, Peanut Butter)!!! We love you!! Riley made Grant a birthday card and in it he wrote, "Happy Birthday Grant. I love you." How sweet is that!!




This website pretty sums it up for me.....they sell a t-shirt that says, "boy moms rock."

This momma loves her some boys!!!

Grant is famous....

Ok, not really but I think he is since he is on another blog......go check out this blog and you will find him under the 3 year olds!! Isn't he the cutest thing you have seen!!! I may be a little bias though.....I could just eat him up!! Although I did tell my children I was going to leave them on a corner if they didn't stop fighting with each other on the way home from the gym today! :) Ahhh, the joy of siblings!!!

We got snow in Hotlanta!

The backyard

For the first time this year, we got snow!!! Snow in the South is a big deal, but not to us Northerners. I actually don't mind the snow now since I know that it will be gone within 24 hours instead of around for months. We told the boys that we were going to get snow and they were so excited! When it started, we told them to look out their windows and they couldn't wait to go and play in it! Grant kept telling Riley, "It's snowing, Riley!"

Here are some pictures of the boys playing outside.....

Riley catching snowflakes on his tongue

Grant and his snowball Daddy made him, which he wanted to bring inside.

Daddy and Riley starting to make their snowman.....

The snowman, which Grant wanted to bring inside also.

Riley launching a snow ball at Daddy.

Thanks for stopping by!

Getting crafty....

I got crafty tonight!!! Yeah me!! I have been memorizing Scripture with Beth Moore and then found some posts on SplitCoastStampers that use Scripture as a focal point to your cards or scrapbook pages, so I decided why not!!

Here is what I made....

This 6x6 scrap page is for a few challenges on SplitCoastStampers.....the Divine Design Bible Verse Challenge and His Holy Name Challenge. For His Holy Name challenge, we are given an attribute of God to study...the first challenge was HOLY. I looked up verses and decided on Colossians 1:22. My plan is to put the pages from the challenges in a vertical album and showcase them somewhere in the house.

I have had this American Crafts paper for months now and did not want to cut it but decided this was a great project to use it! I will be trying to use it instead of hoarding it! :)

You will be seeing more pages like this!!

Thanks for stopping by!
Alexis

What happened!!!

Looks like Grant has gotten over the novelty of being a big boy and going on the potty!!! This week he did not want to wear underwear or sit on the potty. It crushes me because we went to the Mall of Georgia this morning and before we left I changed his diaper, when we got home at 1pm he was dry...I know....shame on me for not changing him while we were out but we checked and he didn't need to be changed... and he did not want to sit on the potty! I tried to bribe him with M&M's....which is his reward when he goes....but he really protested about it so I let it go. BUMMER!!! He was doing so well and now he doesn't want to go!!! Oh, well......maybe he will be potty trained so he can got to VBS (Vacation Bible School) this summer....aiming high!!! :)


Do you see how interesting my life has become that I am blogging about potty training!!!


I actually did do something crafty for my MOPS table.....I made them all Scripture Memory books but I forgot to take a picture before I handed them out. They were belated Valentine's gifts since I was a slacker and started them the night before our Valentine's Day meeting.

Ok...I have nothing else to say except Goodnight Y'all!!! ;)

Looks like we're potty training....

Grant seems to be ready for potty training...which causes some excitment and yet I am not sure I am ready for it. Last Thursday...or was it Tuesday.... I mentioned to his pre-school teacher that he had sat on the potty and actually went so they put him on the potty all morning and he STAYED DRY!!! I was shocked and very proud of him. Today, Daddy asked Grant if he had to go potty and he said yes and went again.....as I write this I realize that this is just exciting for me and no-one else....and since I was getting Riley from school while Grant went down for a nap, I am assuming Daddy had him go before nap and he woke up dry...needless to say he went when I got him up!! It's exciting since I am finally coming to the end of diaper duty!!! Not to mention, not having to tote around diapers and wipes!!! Wooohoooo! But, again I am not sure if I am ready for the work that goes into potty training. Grant is definitely ahead of Riley....though I am sure we probably could have Riley trained by 3 but were moving. Riley was actually trained pretty quick once the move was over. So we will see!!!!! :) We do have to work on pulling up pants.....he can pull them down ok....

Anywho......see how exciting my life is......

My little guy is 5 today!!!

5 yrs old

I cannot believe my little guy is 5 today! He really isn't little anymore! I told him he couldn't grow up anymore since it makes be sad, and he told me he has to, meanwhile his little brother kept telling me not to be sad! He will be in kindergarten in August and I just cannot believe it!

I still remember when I thought I was pregnant with him....it was the end of April in 2003, I was working at our church (Grace Fellowship) and I was on my way home from work , driving on the Northway, when I got a whiff of the fresh cut grass. Prior to having Riley, I did not like the smell of fresh cut grass, I guess maybe that comes from growing up near the city and not in the country (which is what I thought the Capital Region was when I got there for college, which later became what I called home). It smelled sweet and I really did not mind it as much. When I got home I told J what happened and that I thought it was strange. I think I waited to take a test out of fear that I wasn't pregnant since we tried for 1 1/2 years and I had a miscarriage that March (I remember being on bed rest and watching the beginning of the Gulf War, which was also the time that B was pregnant with Cammie and Christa was pregnant with Jared, and little Miss Ashley was born) but we were so excited to find out out we were going to have a baby!!! :) It was finally our turn...we were the only couple in our group of friends who weren't pregnant or didn't already have a baby and I wanted to be pregnant so bad!!!! We decided to wait until we had an ultrasound to tell everyone, friends and family, our news which also happen to be J's 30th birthday and we were having a party from him. We had our first pictures of the baby and I gave them to my mother to look at and she said to me as she was looking at them, "Why are you giving me pictures of Kristan's ultrasound." She obviously didn't get it until I told her to look at the name on the ultrasound picture. Then of course, she started to cry! Little did I know that both of my parents (who are divorced) were anxiously awaiting the arrival of their first grandchild.

My OB was great but a little on the neurotic side. At each monthly visit I was reminded that J was a big guy and I was on the petite side so I needed to watch what I ate (stay away from carbs and sweets) or else the baby was going to be a big one! I really didn't listen....it was a frequent occurrence for me to get bread bowls from ABC for lunch (remember those days Roo) and eat it all or have a candy bar! :) I loved being pregnant until the last few weeks, then I was ready for this baby to get out!!! The week Riley was born I had gone in for false labor and as I was getting discharged, the nurses had my OB on the phone and she asked if I wanted to be induced and I said yes!!! Being induced gave all of my family that lived out of town a chance to be there. I called Mama Yo (as my kids called their grandmother) and she made arrangements to be there at the hospital and Pee-Paw (as my kids call their grandfather, thanks to their cousin Kaitlyn) to fly in from Memphis. We got early since I had to be there for 6am and remember J and I looking at each other and saying that the next time we came home there would be three of us instead of two (we were so ready for us to be three).

Labor was fine. During this time my mom arrived and was visiting with us, J explained all the machines I was hooked up to and they were looking at the machine that monitored contractions and my loving mother said, "Lex ,you are having a contraction" and me, not so lovingly said, "I know mother." Soon after that, my wonderful epidural was administered and life was good!! As we were waiting the arrival of our addition, J was roaming the halls as I slept, and he bumped into friends who were going through their own labor. J walked into the room and said, "Look, who I found." and in walked the Nygaards. (Hello, Nygaards! Ian was born a few hours before Riley...Happy Birthday, Ian....Nygaards, we are forever bonded!!! :)) At around 6:30, my OB came in to check on me before she went home for dinner and told us it was time!!! At 6:52, she announced that it was a boy and we welcomed Riley Allan Ridgway in our lives!!!! Pee-Paw arrived just as J walked into the waiting area to tell everyone that they had a grandson!!! He weighed 6 lbs and 15 oz and life has never be the same! ;P

As I said in the beginning of the post, I think about that day and I cannot believe that he is 5 years old!!! He is growing up to be the sweetest little thing and he daily makes my heart melt by telling me a secret...his secret is that he loves me!!

BTW - Most of Riley's infant pictures were actual photos...we weren't caught up in the digital era hence the 9 mo picture at the top...that was the youngest photo we had on the computer and I was too lazy to scan a newborn picture.

Thanks for sharing in my celebration of my little man!!!

I am an Ingrid...

I found this quiz on a friend's blog...hey Mitzy!!! ;)



You are an Ingrid -- "I am unique"

Ingrids have sensitive feelings and are warm and perceptive.

How to Get Along with Me
* Give me plenty of compliments. They mean a lot to me.
* Be a supportive friend or partner. Help me to learn to love and value myself.
* Respect me for my special gifts of intuition and vision.
* Though I don't always want to be cheered up when I'm feeling melancholy, I sometimes like to have someone lighten me up a little.
* Don't tell me I'm too sensitive or that I'm overreacting!

What I Like About Being an Ingrid
* my ability to find meaning in life and to experience feeling at a deep level
* my ability to establish warm connections with people
* admiring what is noble, truthful, and beautiful in life
* my creativity, intuition, and sense of humor
* being unique and being seen as unique by others
* having aesthetic sensibilities
* being able to easily pick up the feelings of people around me

What's Hard About Being an Ingrid
* experiencing dark moods of emptiness and despair
* feelings of self-hatred and shame; believing I don't deserve to be loved
* feeling guilty when I disappoint people
* feeling hurt or attacked when someone misundertands me
* expecting too much from myself and life
* fearing being abandoned
* obsessing over resentments
* longing for what I don't have

Ingrids as Children Often
* have active imaginations: play creatively alone or organize playmates in original games
* are very sensitive
* feel that they don't fit in
* believe they are missing something that other people have
* attach themselves to idealized teachers, heroes, artists, etc.
* become antiauthoritarian or rebellious when criticized or not understood
* feel lonely or abandoned (perhaps as a result of a death or their parents' divorce)

Ingrids as Parents
* help their children become who they really are
* support their children's creativity and originality
* are good at helping their children get in touch with their feelings
* are sometimes overly critical or overly protective
* are usually very good with children if not too self-absorbed



Take the quiz...

Riley and His Chicks

Ok..here are some pictures of Riley and his chicks for his birthday party....

Riley and Addy....

Riley and Rylee....at school, they are in the same class and are affectionately know as Riley-boy and Rylee - girl.

When she was leaving, she turned around and gave Riley a hug and then they kissed each other on the cheek. Jenny (her mom) and I were laughing.....Rylee then turned around and said, "Bye, Sweetie" and Riley replied in kind, "Bye, Sweetie Pie."

Riley and Mattie...

Mattie told her mom, Kim, that she was going to marry him. :) Notice the face on Riley and how they are hugging each other....I may be in trouble! ;)

Riley and McKenna....

When they saw each other, they gave each other a huge hug....it was so sweet.

During the party, they all said they wanted to marry Riley....

Hope you enjoyed pictures of my little guy and his chicks!

My Little Boy is growing up!!!!

Today was a busy day for us!!

This morning we celebrated Riley's 5th birthday at Monkey Joe's with some of his buds!! Yes, my little guy is going to be 5 on Thursday...I cannot believe it! Jeff and I have been looking into registration stuff for the Fall and we register for Kindergarten at the end of April. I have mixed feelings about the whole idea of my first born going to Kindergarten....anywho... some pictures of the fun that was had!

Riley and his fellow party-ers....can you tell what kind of day we're having with Grant?!?! We were also missing R's buddy, Thomas. Notice that Riley is surrounded by girls...we nicknamed them his chicks....they all said that they want to marry him! :) And I am not opposed to any of them marrying my son.....I am all for arranged marriages with families I know! We took individual pictures of him with his chicks and they came out adorable.....

I tried to post some pictures of Riley and his girls but I can't rotate them!! I will try tomorrow...maybe. :)

Riley's cake...a Madagascar cake...

Here is Riley blowing out his candles....try not to pay to much attention to the movement of the camera, I was trying to tame some of the drama in the background...also notice the faces of Riley and his freinds regarding the drama...

After Riley's party, we went to another party for another friend!!! So ladies and gents (if there are any that read this), I am officially all partied out!

Have a great night!

Uh-oh.......

I am not even sure how to write this, so I will just post it.....



I read this on a blog that I read frequently and it can be found FOXNews.com



President Obama will issue an executive order on Thursday reversing the Bush administration policy that bans the use of federal dollars by non-govermental organizations that discuss or provide abortions outside of the United States.
Obama will sign the executive order on the 36th anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion in all 50 states.
The policy, known in governmental circles as the "Mexico City policy," requires any non-governmental organization to agree before receiving U.S. funds that they will "neither perform nor actively promote abortion as a method of family planning in other nations."
The language was announced at the United Nations International Conference on Population in 1984, and was approved by President Reagan and originally drafted by his assistant secretary of state, Alan Keyes.
Keyes ran unsuccessfully as the GOP nominee against Obama for the U.S. Se

nate in 2004.
President George Herbert Walker Bush continued Reagan's Mexico City policy.
President Bill Clinton issued an executive order lifting the ban on Jan. 22, 1993. President George W. Bush issued an executive order re-instating the ban on federal dollars for NGOs that discuss or provide abortions on Jan. 22, 2001.



Just makes me sad!!!

What an exciting day!!!

Ok...I know my title took some of you by surprise! I did not vote for Barak, but I have to say that today was an exciting day....a historical day! America now has an African American president! There are no barriers any more.....ANYONE can be president. I can tell my kids what I was doing on the day the President was sworn in. Just think, this day will probably be in the history books our kids read in school. I DVR'd it so I will probably watch it all tomorrow along with the rest of Bachelor and American Idol!

G'night!
Alexis