Ryans Birthday Treat

For Ryan's birthday we bought tickets in the Cardinals Club section of Busch stadium. If you don't know much about the new Busch, they are the green seats right on the field. We got to enjoy a free buffet (FANTASTIC), plus all you can eat and drink all night long! Money well spent. We also got to rub elbows with a few famous people. Here are the pictures.

A view from our seats.
The crazy eagle that almost took my eye out.

The umpires gathering before the game.

Me and Jimmy "the cat" Scates. (an announcer from FSN Midwest)

Ryan talking to "The Cat".

Ryan and I with Jim Rooney. (An announcer for the STL Cardinals) Funny story. Mr. Rooney walked off the field after the game and we stopped him and asked him if he would take our picture. (We had only heard him on the radio, never seen him.) When he said yes we knew immediately who he was and he agreed to have his picture taken with us.

Us in front of the entrance to the Cardinal Club.

Fun at Eckerts

Every season Eckerts offers something fun and new. This is the season for strawberries. I decided it would be a good day to take Nick to the patch and let him pick his first strawberry. My mom is coming over this weekend and we are going to make homemade strawberry jam. We got to ride a tractor to the field and pick as many strawberries as we wanted. Needless to say we ended up buy most of what we needed from the country store.

In late June we will go back because they have peach picking. I can't wait to make some fresh peach salsa!

When I was driving past a church this afternoon I noticed the message on the board and it caught my eye....

Help promote peace on Earth...

Love your family

Open Invitation

So I was thinking....How fun would it be to get together with old friends and catch up?! It has been a very long time since I have been home and visited with people I used to be very close to. Years to be exact. I really would love to catch up and meet every one's children. I would like to extend an invitation to have anyone who would be interested to have an STL play date. If there is any interest please let me know and I will check into a few places like the butterfly house, botanical gardens or maybe even the zoo. I think this would be a lot of fun and I will even pack the picnic baskets. I know how hard it is to get away from things, but hopefully this will work out. Hope to hear from you soon!

A few pics of the new house

We are nowhere near finished with decorating our new abode, but here are a few pics I have been promising you. We still new to obviously hang pictures and such. I will not show you our office or bedrooms until we have them completely finished. I am not sure yet what to do in the master, but have a good idea about Nick's room. Yep you guessed it....SPORTS. For those of you who know Ryan, I am sure you are completely shocked.

Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease

Just the title of this virus sounds dirty doesn't it?! Well Nick has it. He had a fever for a few days, which was really abnormal for him. When his fever didn't go away, I called the doctor. I was concerned that maybe he had an ear infection. Well needless to say his ears checked out just fine. She did however notice blisters in his mouth and throat and on the inside of his cheeks. (Why did I not notice this?) When the doctor informed me that he had hand foot and mouth disease I wondered if it was because of something I did not clean well enough....well its not. It is just a virus that is contagious to other children. I guess he must have picked it up somewhere when we were around other kids. I am not too sure when that would be considering he is not in daycare. Oh well the Doc prescribed him "Magic Mouthwash" so that we can numb his mouth in order for him to eat because the blisters make it very painful. Do you know how hard it is to get a 21 month old to swish and spit mouthwash? IMPOSSIBLE. Hopefully he doesn't get a drug overdose from all the magic mouthwash he has consumed. By the end of this I may need my own "Magic Mouthwash"!

Helping Pa Pa

Nick wanted to help Pa Pa try to fix the dryer door.

Nick helping the movers

Nick was such a big help last week when the movers arrived. He thought he needed to climb the ramp and help them out. He is so into exploring right now. Their little brains just go a hundred miles an hour don't they?

Pixel Code Graphics

Happy Birthday to my wonderful Husband. Hope you have a great day! Love You

Hello fellow bloggers. I am glad to announce that our internet is FINALLY connected. It has been so sad not to be able to blog everyday. I have so much to tell you all about the past week or so. I can't wait to get back into the blog world. Look for more to come very soon. Oh how I have missed you all!!!!

Living without the net.....

I have been without the Internet for a while since we moved into our new home. I am not sure how much longer I will be "Off the Air", but hopefully not too much longer. Hope to start blogging again soon!

Mom Update

My mom called me on Monday. This was nothing unusual to me as we speak to each other after each of her doctors appointments. When she started the conversation this time though, the first thing she said was "Now please don't be mad..." I was not really sure what to expect. After not being able to spend any time with her on Mother's Day, I was worried about what news she may have to tell me.

She informed me that last week she has a catscan and did not tell anyone. She said she just didn't want to worry any of us. I let her know that I completely understood her reasoning for not telling us, but I was curious to know what the doctor had to tell her.

The scan revealed that her cancer has not spread anywhere. It also showed that the new chemo she is taking is working. The left side of her liver is growing new tissue to replace cancerous tissue throughout her liver.

Wow!!! Seems that prayers are being answered. Although she is not cured of the disease, it seems that the chemo is doing its job by cutting off the blood vessels that feed the cancer. I will try to keep you updated on her progress.

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. Please keep them coming.

Nick thought this was the neatest thing ever. I guess this is not something I should probably let him do.
Nick has a shoe fetish. He loves to walk around in everyone elses shoes. I think all kids go through this stage.

New Do

Last week we decided it was way past time to get Reggie groomed. I have never owned a long haired dog, so to be honest I was not aware of the up keep. We took him to a place called Bark Avenue. VERY cute. It was like a little boutique. The lady was not very friendly, but she did a rather nice job. She only charged $25. That is amazing since the vet charges $18 alone just to trim nails.

To be quite honest when I picked him up I laughed because I could not believe this was my dog. Now I think I like the cut a lot. He does look more like a poodle though. Oh well at least we found a summer do.

Before Pictures

Okay....so I thought I took a few more pictures of the house so I could show you the before. Well I didn't. Here are the few pictures that I have. I will post more when I get everything arranged and settled.

Nick's bathroom. (look he already knows how to keep the toilet seat up!)
The kitchen. We plan to have a housewarming party with lots of fun food. Maybe some of my friends from my hometown can attend.

The dining room that leads to one of the patios.

The living room. I convinced my husband that we don't need three TVs in this room. This was a huge accomplishment.

Mothers

After reading a few blogs this weekend I began to think about what Mother's Day means to me and why my mom is so special to me. I am so very sad that I will not be able to spend Mother's Day with my mom this year because I have to work. I won't be able to attend church with her or hug her and tell her how much I love her. It actually really has me in kind of a funk. I have never went without seeing my mom on this special day and I want more than ever to be with her. I am glad I have an understanding mom, but it still crushes me not to be with her.

If any of you see her out and about please stop her and hug her for me and let her know how much I love her.

I have known my mother for almost thirty years. We have been through so much together as a mother and daughter team that it is really difficult to decide where to begin. I know that many, many times we did not see eye to eye, but I always knew that no matter what I did, or who I wanted to be my mom was always there for me.

From the time I was a small child I can remember my mom giving up something that she may have really wanted or needed to make sure that my brother and I did not have to know what it was like to go without. It seemed like she always found a way to make us happy no matter what the cost.

My mother is a person that I idolize. I hope that one day I am able to be even half the woman she is. she has been through so much more than many of you may ever know, and yet she still finds the time to smile and help others. She lives every day to the fullest...like there is no tomorrow.

Friendship is something that is second nature to my mother. There is not a person who crosses her path that she does not take the time to make feel special.

There are not words for me to describe exactly what I feel for my mother. There is no way I would ever be able to put into words what makes her so special.

All I know is that she is the best mom a daughter could ask for. Without her, I would not be the woman I am today.

I love you Mama...Happy Mothers Day!

New Home

Many may not know this yet, but Ryan and I finally bought a house. We have lived with Bud and Linda (my in-laws) for almost 2 1/2 years now and we finally have a place of our own.

The "Upstairs" Martins have been more than generous to us by helping us to make it through the past few years while I was going to school and saving money to get our own place.

When we moved to Fairview, we knew that this would be a fantastic opportunity not only for us, but for Nick as well. Bud and Linda were more than happy to open their home to us so that we did not have to struggle while trying to find a place we could afford. I don't know what we would have done without their help.

Although it seem like a dream I am glad to say that Ryan and I finally have our own home. We got a tremendous deal on a home and it will be perfect for the next few years while I finish school.

We have started moving a few things into the house and it is starting to come together. I think we should be officially moved into our new place by the 19Th. I am so excited to be starting this new adventure. I really can't wait to start planting flowers and such. I have before pictures to post soon and then I will post after pictures.

Thanks Bud and Linda for all the support!

Blogger Prayer Chain

Marilyn is the mother of a fellow blogger who needs to be kept in your prayers. She is battling Lung cancer for the second time. She received some test results this week that were not so good. Although I do not know Marilyn, I do unfortunately know the disease she is fighting. This blogger chain was started to help get the word out that prayers are needed. Please keep Marilyn and her family in your prayers. Never under estimate the power of prayer. If you are interested in tracking Marilyn's progress you can visit www.strongerthancancer.blogspot.com.

Happy Anniversary

I would like to wish my mom and step-dad a very happy second anniversary.

Happy Cinco De Mayo

Think I'll make some guacamole and margaritas.

Nice Cut

A Great Weekend!

Although it didn't seem long enough, I had a fantastic weekend. My mom made the trip over on Friday and left this morning. It was really great to be able to spend so much time with her. I think I really wore her out though. She spoiled us all rotten.

Nick loves having her around. When he woke up from his nap this afternoon he came downstairs and was apparently wondering where his grandma was because he looked at me curiously and asked, "Ma Maw seepin?" I had to tell him a few times that Ma Maw had gone home, but we would see her again soon.

For those of you who may not know, My mom is a big Yadier Molina fan. (STL cardinals pitcher) Well Ryan found out through a few friends where Yadi lived and so Ryan drove her by this weekend. (I had to work both nights she was here) Anyway...they actually saw Yadi in his dining room. How cool is that.

Well mom I hope you had as much fun as I did and I hope we aren't apart as long as we were this time. I love you!

Like Father, Like Son...

Thanks Rachel for the use of Taylor's golf cart this afternoon. We had a blast with it.

A Good Gesture