.:Meet the Ritchies:.

This is her happy dance

The kids are back in school officially!  Claire made it out the door on time this morning, hair curled and everything.  No meltdowns, which is pretty amazing since she is in those awfully emotional (and awkward)  teenage years.  I kept waiting for it.  And I was super grateful when it didn’t happen.  Then Enzo and I went back to bed for a nice two hour nap.  That’s what I would like for him to do every day, but I need to somehow get him there without laying down next to him and falling asleep as well.  That way I am able to do productive things with that time.  I am not complaining though, heaven knows I love to sleep.  I would pretty much choose sleeping over any other activity.  Seriously.

First day of school 2011-12

And one with baby bro...of course

Enzo and I had a great day.  He had some carrots again, and actually made a dent in the jar this time.

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Enzo likey the carrots

We met our friend Ali and her adorable cousin Emma, who is 2, at Crema on SE 28th.  I love that place.  Ali gave me a couple birthday presents – a beautiful orchid plant which I will do my best to care for and remember to water (every 2-3 weeks it says, so that shouldn’t be too hard).  And she baked me a cake.  Not just any cake, a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting and berries.  Blueberries, strawberries and blackberries.  On the inside, as well.  Yum!

We decided to take the girls out to dinner to celebrate the new school year, so we chose Enzo’s on Alberta (for obvious reasons).  It did not disappoint, in fact, we HIGHLY recommend!  The owner/chef, Enzo himself, made our meal for us and was super tickled to find out our baby was named Enzo.

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There was only one other table of people besides us, we went kind of early on account of Mark and I were hungry at 5.  Our waitress was really sweet.  She said that it actually has happened often, people coming in with their children saying they are named Enzo.  I guess it’s a popular one, and we didn’t even know it!   We all were happy with what we ordered.  Mark had a pizza with prosciutto, Veda had pesto pasta, Claire had spaghetti with meatballs (which she said tasted like “heaven… in a meatball”) and I had mushrooms and asparagus pasta.  We have leftovers in the fridge and I can’t wait to have mine for lunch tomorrow!

She's a 5th grader!

She's an 8th grader!

Claire was selecting what she was going to wear tomorrow and Mark asked her if it was “nerd day” at school because she was referring to her fake glasses as nerd glasses…to which I replied, “every day is nerd day for her”… haha.  I was waiting for the obligatory smack on the arm, but she just laughed and said “yeah!”  What a dork.

This evening, over cake…

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…we had a family meeting and decided on some new house rules.  The girls got really excited about the idea of doing chores around the house (I know, right! No the cake was not laced with loopy pills) and Veda made a chart to hang on their bedroom door.  And there was mention of stickers but I’m going to have to ask again because I think I’m in charge of that?  I wrote the rules on the chalkboard for future reference…

Our house RULES! haha....

How about you, do you have house rules and/or a chore list?

xoxo

Side note:  As I write this post, my adorable husband is playing an online scrabble game, on the TV with his new wireless keyboard and mouse, whilst sitting on the couch. 

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Or stay-at-home Mom, for those that aren’t in the know.  I hope you like dashed phrases because this post is full of them!  Not sure why, just feeling that way today.

Finally both kids are in bed (we don’t have Veda until tomorrow). And the older one made more of a fuss than the tiny one! Couldn’t find her jeans she was planning to wear tomorrow (first day of school), major freak out twenty minutes before bedtime, only to find them folded and put away (clearly thats what threw her off since normally they are just laying in a heap on the floor) in her dresser. Funny part is, SHE put them there.  Oy vey.

I think I am more exhausted right now from my first day as a SAHM than I was from working all day at Columbia. No joke. Different kind of exhaustion though, I guess. Enzo is definitely working on some teeth so he was a little fussy today and needed constant interaction. But he was also having moments of hilarity, making a fake cough/laugh noise all day, he was born with wit what can I say?

I wish this would've turned out better, but seriously, it makes me lol every time i look at it.

But his lack of “downtime” made it so I had a hard time being productive in other areas, such as my giant sized to-do list I have for myself. I did manage to do several loads of laundry, including the inner shower curtain that has been grossing me out for weeks. And we tackled the much-larger-than-anticipated task of cleaning Claire’s room.

Kaboooom!

She has not only outgrown all her clothes this summer but she has also outgrown most of her books and toys. Plus, her room is a disaster anyway so it needed some re-organization. Mark and I will be laying down some new house rules and among them will be things like 1. Clean clothes are put away immediately. 2. Dirty clothes go in a hamper, not on the floor. So with all the items Claire has outgrown, I am trying to decide whether to donate or try my hand at Ebay. I have sold things on Ebay before and I am always stressed out about the business of shipping. I had an item not arrive at its destination once, according to the buyer, so I had to refund the person their money.  The whole thing just makes me nervous. But I also like the idea of selling things rather than giving them, especially since a lot of the stuff is practically brand new! I listed some shirts in a “lot” assortment, so we will see how it goes.

Enzo did okay with carrots this morning. He took about five bites before he became completely disinterested. That’s about three more than last time though. Progress!

He also did some johnny-jumping.

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He was loving his Clifford the Big Red Dog that Grandma Trudie got him a few weeks ago. They shared several laughs today, both real and fake.

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(Looking at these pictures, I just  noticed that he had three outfit changes today…woah)

Tomorrow is the first day of school for Claire. Veda started up today. Enzo has five more years before we have to deal with any of that business.  Phew.

Our loving and wonderful Aunt Rachel is in the hospital today, so please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.  We love you Aunt Rachel, please feel better soon!!

xoxo

We hope you had a fabulous holiday weekend!  Ours was spent with good friends, lots of food and today we spent most the day with family, enjoying the sudden summer weather we are experiencing!  It was over 90 degrees today, pretty sure, and it’s supposed to be that way all week.  Perfect for those staying indoors and who have air conditioning, not so perfect for the kiddos returning to school where their classrooms do not have a/c and they aren’t allowed to wear shorts!  Ugh!  But whatever, I remember wearing long sleeves and pants on my first day of school because I was so excited to wear my new back-to-school outfit and it was geared more for fall temperatures.  Even when it was still super warm outside!  Kids can easily overlook such things.  But as I am not a kid, I feel like I’m melting as soon as my eyes pop open in the morning!  Enzo is sleeping in just a diaper, since we still swaddle him at night, because I don’t want him to just lay there and sweat all night.  I am not complaining about the weather, but I am looking forward to some cooler temperatures and watching the leaves start to turn color.  Fall is my favorite time of year, after all.

Today we got to cool off at Aunt Judy’s house in her pool!  The Ritchie clan gathered together to celebrate the holiday and eat some yummy food.  It was the first time for some of them meeting Enzo, everyone was in love with his fat rolls.  He seems to be the hit of the party for that reason, I love it!  Uncle Jay is visiting from Georgia and it was great to see him!

And Enzo loved him, even after we warned him that he would give him a hard time.  Apparently Uncle Jay doesn’t pick on you until you are a little bigger, so Enzo is safe…for now…

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Mark and his sister Amy

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Strike a pose chubby!

We put Enzo in his swimming shorts, I had to cut out the built in underwear (for a baby, really?) because they wouldn’t go past his thighs.  In his defense, they were 3month size so they were on the tight side anyway.  They were giving him a super wedgy, poor little guy, but he didn’t complain.  He likes to take baths, he especially loves to kick his feet and splash, but he had never experienced a pool before.  At first he wasn’t that thrilled with it, it took him a bit to get used to the cooler water.  It was definitely warmer than the lake though, thankfully!  I even got in, which is unusual for me since I’m not a huge fan of water.

Aunt Judy's pool

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Wow, they almost glow!

Enzo seemed to like it after awhile, and then he found a plastic fish to chew on and nothing bothered him after that.

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We had to watch out for big sis though, she was splashing all over the place...

Grandpa Bill even took him for a lap... see, he's got the fish, he doesn't care what's happening!

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happy baby!

And then, of course, it was time for a nap… good thing Aunt Amy’s arms were handy!

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So tomorrow morning I do not have to get up and go to work.  That will be very strange. But I am super excited to spend the day with my children.  Enzo is going to practice rolling over and maybe try and eat some carrots.  And Claire has back to school night at school, which I am NOT going to forget about (like last year, oops!).

xoxo

I am not usually one to take risks.  I like routine.  I like structure.  I appreciate financial security. But on the Monday before last, I did something that one may consider was a “leap of faith”.

I quit my job.

After much discussion, and utter panic at the thought of turning Enzo over to a stranger’s care (daycare), Mark and I made the decision that we would live frugally and downsize to one income so that I could stay home with Enzo.  I am more than excited at this opportunity and am hopeful of only great things in the future.  Of course, my hope and optimism hasn’t exactly been mirrored in my husbands eyes, but I can’t blame him.  As the one bringing in the income and providing the insurance, that’s a huge responsibility.  I am not taking for granted the sacrifice he is making in order for this to happen.  The sacrifice of sleeping soundly.

But as I said, I have huge hopes and as my father-in-law so kindly put it in a comment on the previous post (thanks Bill, you are the sweetest!!), my “head is spinning with great ideas”.  And now I will have the time to devote to these and turn my dream into a reality.  I plan to get productive in my sewing room and fill my Etsy shop.  I also hope to do a website geared towards shopping for “the littles” in your life, a directory if you will, for our lovely city.  And if possible, I will hopefully get to do some work as a Nanny for friends who are having babies in the very near future.  All while getting to be there as my little boy grows and learns, and steer my extremely hormonal and smart-mouthed teenage daughter in the right direction.

AWESOME.  *sigh*

But even though the future seems bright and full of possibilities, I am also saying goodbye to a bunch of good friends at Columbia, where I have worked the past four years.  So it is definitely bittersweet.

Beautiful friends to take with me beyond my work life - Elena, Kira, Sombra and Karen (at my wedding in 2009)

Today they threw me a party complete with the most delicious homemade desserts a girl-who-loves-sweets could ask for!  My entire team each made a homemade dessert (sorry Katie, I didn’t get a picture of your brownies, but everyone was smitten with them!).  I love HOMEMADE anything, it’s very thoughtful!

Lemon & Lavender cupcakes with goat cheese frosting by Elena (she even made the little signs, too cute!)

Oreo chocolate cupcakes by Karen - I had a really hard time finishing the whole thing, it was so rich and yummy!

DELICIOUS blackberry pie by Crystal, I was teasing that I wanted to crawl inside of it but really I was serious.

Confetti cake cookies with icing flowers, so pretty! by the adorable Heather.

And thanks to my supervisor Pam for the “water with gas” – or sparkling water.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to everyone who came and wished me well.  I will miss you all, but I will definitely be back to visit!  I hope you’ll keep in touch!

I am truly blessed!  Tomorrow is my last day in the office.  It will be an afternoon where I will need to keep tissue handy, I do believe.

xoxo