Manners Anyone?

I've never wanted to punch so many people in the face all at one time as I did last night. We went to Zoolights, and I imagine part of the chaos is because of the crazy weather we'd been having and so many people missed out attending during the actual season, and everyone thought it was the last night. Little do most people know that it's open until next weekend.. (just a little FYI). Anyway, it was the only night that all 3 of us, my mom, my sister and I, would be able to make it at the same time. So we went and took just the girls.

It was insane! People are so rude. Never mind you're trying to take a picture, I'm just going to walk right in front of you, and STOP. Or forget you have 2 little ones with you, I'm going to PUSH you out of the way and trample on your kids at the same time.

What happened to the days when vacationers, or sightseers, were actually encouraged to take a picture? Remember when people would OFFER to take a picture of your whole family for you, so the odd man out taking the picture wasn't always missing? I kid you not, last night, people were pushing people to get out of the way to get a picture in the infamous Zoolights Circle.



We didn't push anybody. We patiently waited our turn..and look, MOM IS MISSING!! Nobody offered to take our picture...

Then there were the kids that nobody paid attention too. Like the 12-13 year olds running around practically knocking my kid down on every turn. There was no real chance to stop and actually ENJOY looking at the lights with the kids, because the "big kids" were so busy rushing through and crowding everyone out of the way. It was so crowded.. I got whacked in the vajayjay (as Oprah would say) with a glow in the dark sword that made attack noises by some kid who was frantically swinging it this way and that. And all his dad said was "I TOLD YOU TO WATCH WHERE YOU WERE SWINGING THAT THING".. My mom made the comment, "he probably was watching where he was swinging it".. lol.

I have a LOT of patience. Sometimes too much. My sister on the other hand has NONE. She made a comment to my mom and I about the lady who practically stopped in the middle of our picture pose of the girls, and the lady turned around and stared at her. I thought we might have had WWF right there at the zoo. I was waiting for it, really, I was.

Seriously, I just don't know what happened to courtesy, manners, and being polite in public. No wonder the kids these days have none.. Their parents don't either!!!
We made it through the night though, no black eyes, bruises or missing teeth, (besides Ashley's of course).. so I guess it was alright. I think next year, we'll go on a Wednesday...

Baby No More

I knew it. I JUST knew it. I knew, the second I cut his hair off, and yes, those precious little curls, that my baby would be gone..


It's strange. His haircut has made him a completely different kid. Like Lauryn with her hearing, she's not the same quiet, loving kid. No she's more like an extremely opinionated, outspoken little girl now. Anyway, this blog is about Logan, not Lauryn.

His hair chopping session was great. I was getting tired of chasing him around the house trying to brush it to make him appear somewhat of a well taken care of child. Not like the ragamuffin he is.. =) I was getting tired of the snot in his bangs and then crusting to his head. I didn't want to get rid of the curls, but the last time we tried that, he ended up with a mullet.


A mullet that was somewhat unnoticeable to most, but to others, he somewhat resembled Joe Dirt in his younger years.





So I did it. Saturday, I took him in and said, I want it all chopped off. She showed me this super cute picture of a style that I really liked, where it was still kind of long on top, but short in the back, and it could be styled. Needless to say, that didn't happen. Logan was deathly afraid of the short little Asian woman coming at him with scissors in hand. He clung to me for dear life, and screamed like a banshee. A tone he's seemed to perfect lately.






See he wasn't happy.


He had to sit on my lap, and she just started chopping. I thought she knew what she was doing at first, but I think she was more worried about getting it over with than actually getting the style I wanted. Oh well. It's just hair right?
After a bit, he calmed down, and let her cut the rest of it.
But look at those curls, and how long it was in the back. WHAT WAS I THINKING??






And here he is all done..

My little man, now runs around the house screaming when he wants things, throwing fits, and has MUCH more attitude than he did before. I'm sure alot of it has to do with age, since he just hit the 18 month mark on Christmas. He's officially a waddler.. not an infant, and not quite toddler yet.. but man..
















Watch out world, he is baby no more..

6 Years!!

When love is not madness, it is not love. ~Pedro Calderon de la Barca



In the last week, I've had so much time to reflect. I've focused on my relationship, and how I almost let it slip away. Josh and I have been together for 6 years tomorrow! It's crazy, how time has flown by. We've made so many memories. We've laughed, and cried, and thrown things, and yelled, and every other emotion, we've experienced together. We've been through a lot. It's not easy to be in a relationship, it's not easy to be a parent, it's not easy to be a blended family. Yet somehow, we've managed to pull it off, and do it together. We've had some hard times. Financially and emotionally. But as I layed in bed last night thinking about tomorrow and the "anniversary" that it is, I really thought about how lucky I am. There are so many people out there that have been 'against' us. People who told him he'd be better off without me, people who've told me the same. We've got ex's to deal with, that we'll ALWAYS have to deal with, and that is no easy feat either. But we do it. And we LOVE to do it together. He makes me a better person. I am the yin to his yang, or the other way around. I'm not sure exactly, but I do know that we complete each other, more so than any one else has ever made me think about.

I tried to live without him, and I couldn't. I thought I'd "be better off"..but I'm not. I know that he's never felt that way, but I have a tendency (moreso than him) to shrink in to my manic state of depression, and be self destructive. He stands by my side, even when I've done the most self destructive of things. Even if it was geared towards him, or has affected him. He is there. And there's no doubt in my mind that he always will be.

He made a comment to me on the way home yesterday, and it struck deep. We were talking about the difference of small schools vs. big schools. And our exact conversation was about Elma vs. Oakville. We were following the bus home, more like, got stuck behind it. It was an Elma bus. I made the comment, well, if it comes all the way out here, my kids should have been able to go to Elma. I really wanted Ashley to go to kindergarten in Elma. But we live on the wrong side of the tracks for that! Josh said, "well, you don't want her to go there anyway. She's fine where she's at. Small schools are better anyway. I went to a small school, and I think I turned out great".. I chuckled, and said "well I went to a big one, and... " And I stopped at that sentence. And he grinned. And I said " go ahead say it, say how I turned out!" And he said, "you're turning out great with my help. by the time I'm done with you, you'll be the person you always wanted to be and are capable of being"... He was being sarcastic, but.....
It's so true. I'm not sure the small school vs. big school had anything to do with it. But then again it might have. It could also have to do with the dynamics of our family lives. His parents are STILL married. Mine, divorced, remarried, and divorced, remarried again. I'm sure MANY factors have to do with this.. but anyway... He is MUCH more confident than me. He has no hard time, saying how he feels. He is honest with himself. He had a closer circle of friends than me. And I think those are attributes of a kid that grew up in a small town where everybody knew everybody. In my town, everybody knew everybody, but only because they were a friend of a friend. It isn't MUCH bigger, but big enough to make a huge difference. He graduated with like 20 kids. I graduated with like 200.

Anyway, back to the point. His comment struck home. He has helped me become the person I want to be. He's helping me be more sure of myself. To tell people how I really feel. Not let them walk all over me. He's helped me to learn what being a "true friend" is. He's helped me discover my passions (and not just the sexual one, you perverts).. He makes me want to be a better person. To make him happy. To make MYSELF happy. He makes me a better parent. We are the perfect balance. Even when I was at my lowest point, he turned to me one night and said " I know why you did what you did, and I still love you".. I will never forget that night for as long as I live, or the dementia strikes, whichever comes first...


He is an amazing man. He provides for our family. He does what he can to get us through this crazy, tragic, magic, life. He is an AWESOME father to Ashley. He treats her as if she is his own. She might as well be!! He is the rock. He is MY ROCK. And I don't know how I ever lived without him by my side. It's been a crazy ride. Sure there are some things I'd like to change, or go back and "fix". But the truth is, we wouldn't be as strong as we are, if we hadn't gone through these things together.

so 6 years, and 2 kids later... I finally know where I'm supposed to be. And that's next to him for the rest of my life.

I love you Joshy. I don't tell you enough. But here you have it writing, for the whole wide web to see...
I am me, and you are you, and TOGETHER we are US!
There's no one, I would have rather smoked out the window at 4 am with.....
Happy 6 years!!!

Ashley Elaine 10-02-2008

My child. She turned 7 last week. I don't even know where the time went. But everyday, she reminds me that she is the greatest thing to ever happen to me. Getting pregnant with her changed my life in every way possible. It wasn't the greatest thing at the time, I was young, well 20, doesn't seem so young because I know so many younger ones, but to me it was. I didn't want children until I was out of college, independent, and married. I kind of do everything backwards, but that's just me. I got married, divorced, pregnant, then college. But anyway, back to the topic at hand. She has made me a better person, and given me the desire to be a GREAT example to her. I don't want her to do things the way I did, however, I'll not try to stop her, because I know how that turns out. I want to be her friend, I want her to trust me, and to know that she can come to me with ANY issue. She is so charismatic, loving, funny, talented, she will be a superstar someday. Not that she already isn't. But the girl has some talent, that will take her places, if we focus her energy positively. Never in a million years, would I have thought, that I would have a child that is so smart, witty, in tune with EVERYTHING around her, wise beyond her years, (and ears).. She catches me off guard more often than not, and definitely keeps me on my toes.
I was going through her backpack the other day, and took out her homework folder. Filing through the pages, looking at what she's learning, I happen to notice the name at the top of the page. It took up the whole length of the page.
ASHLEY ELAINE COX RITTER TERRY.
That's what it said.
For a while now, she's been telling me that's her name. Or when anyone asks her name, she gives them that speel. I walked across the kitchen and showed it to Josh. He just smiled. When you ask her why she says that's her name, she says , "Well my dad is a Cox, You are a Ritter, and Josh is a Terry. So I'm all 3!" It's quite hilarious, because she ends it with her cheesiest smile yet. I have tried to explain to her, that just because those are our last names, doesn't make it hers. She says " I know, but that's what I want it to be." I guess there's no stopping her. Once her minds made up, that's how she rolls! She says that once Josh and I get married, she'll take out the Ritter part, cause then I'll be a Terry and she won't need the Ritter. ;-)
So hurry up Josh, there's enough Ritter's in this world!!

Sugar Fix

My wonderful 3 year old this morning, was messing around out in the dining room/kitchen this morning. I was still laying in bed watching Pres Bush talk about our economy and what he's doing to fix it.. *gasp*. Anywho.. Our computer desk sits behind the kitchen table against the wall, and the computer chair is one of her favorites to "sit and spin".. So that's what she was doing this morning. Spinning in circles. Well, she got going a little too fast, flew off the chair and hit her head on the kitchen table. She comes running in to my room half crying half pissed off. Here is our conversation as follows.

Lauryn: "Mommy I hit my head"
Me: "You hit your head on what honey"
Lauryn: "The tahhhhhhbllllllllllllleeeeeeeee".
Me: Are you going to live?
Lauryn: "No, I need sugar"
Me: " You need sugar to fix your owie?"
Lauryn: YESSSSSSSSSSS!

And that's what started my morning!

When I grow up...

We were driving in the car today. Just me and the girls, and Ashley was singing her little heart out. At one point, she does that "ahhhhhhhhh" really high pitched, kinda like Ariel from The Little Mermaid when she's warming up. But Ashley's was MUCH squeakier, or maybe just more high pitched.I don't know really how to explain it, except that it was piercing to my ears coming from directly behind my seat while driving. I said "Ashley, PLEASE don't do that in the car, and ESPECIALLY while I'm driving!" She said, I can't help it mom, when I grow up I want to be Oprah, (and she pronounced it just like the couch queen's name). The conversation continued..

You know, those ladies that sing. Oprahs.
You mean, opera Ashley. (and I sounded it out for her)
Ya. Oprah's.
They're called Op-Er-A singers Ashley.
Ok, Oppp-errr-a.
You tell Mrs. Holt at school that is what you want to be. (the music teacher)
Ok mom. I'll tell her when I grow up, I want to be Oprah.
You do that bug!!

It was quite amusing, and I only wished someone was in the car to appreciate the humor with me. I can only hope that my daughter grows up to be as successful as Oprah, but if not, we'll settle for an opera singer! Either way, she's destined to go far!

First Wiggly Tooth!

My Little Bug is growing up. She came home from school today with her first loose tooth!