Christmas Baking 2010

For the past couple of years, I've been studying under the tutelage of my mom and Bunny to make some of the best cookies.  Cut out cookies, in particular, have been my focus.  These are very labor-intensive cookies!  This month, we've been very busy baking holiday treats.  Mom and I donated 2 sets of 6 dozen cookies to the Evangelical School Auction (to be delivered at Christmas time).  We also made cookies to give as gifts to teachers (10 in total), Sam's shift at the police dpartment, the staff at the credit union, and so on.  Of course, we also made enough for some family gatherings as well.  In all, I think we made about 25 dozen cookies/treats. 

Patrick and Eva helped on the first day.  They were pros at rolling out the dough.  I couldn't figure out how they were so good on their first try...Play Doh!  These kids LOVE Play Doh.  They each made their own tray of cookies...we didn't include these in with the "gift cookies" though.  :)

Cookie Baking at The Farm

Anyway, it was lots of fun, but exhausting.  Except for the family cookies, they've all been delivered!  Thanks Mom and Bunny for helping become less domestically challenged!

Gratitude 2010 - What I'm Thankful For

My dear husband Sam; we are making this thing work, even though many days are hard and we get tired of being grown ups! 
Patrick and and Eva, seriously, I couldn't have made cooler children than these two.
Our new roof and gutters, only a real grown up would mention this.
That Sam and I both got to our goal weights this year.
Yoga and kickboxing...either end of the spectrum, but I LOVE it!
Hanging with my mom.
Katie - we love you, in spite of your shoes.
One of the most important: the Village that is helping us raise our children.
Nora is having a BABY!!!
I've gotten to spend more time with Amy this year.
Finishing up a five year run on the Board of Directors for the YWCA of Alton
My babies are growing up so fast, but we are enjoying them so much.
Libby and Moo are now getting hugs and kisses each night from Eva
Our families are healthy

Thanksgiving 2010

Every year we have an abundance of family to spend the day with.  We feel so lucky to have so many great people in our life.  The kids and I started the morning at my mom's.  They played in the loft and I put the green bean casserole together and "helped" the Mom, Bunny and Grandma Colleen make the final preparations.  I am clearly the least qualified to the in the kitchen, but someday I'm going to have to grow up and prepare Thanksgiving meal (I'm hoping I've got at least 20-30 years before I'm actually responsible for this). 

Anyway, Mom set a lovely table as per usual.  She indulged me and set the table with the china and crystal.  Although I had to agree to wash aforementioned china and crystal, as it cannot be thrown away like paper plates or put in the dishwasher like everyday dishes.  In the photos from this year, you'll see the experts making mashed potatoes.  I'm being pretty serious here.  I had to photograph it because, between Mom and Bunny, the level of expertise when it comes to mashed potatoes made it an historic moment.  It was like eating icing on a fork.

We had a full house this year with Bunny, Keith, Mom, Dad, Andrew, PawPaw Fordie, Grandma Colleen, our 4 Hooligans, and of course, the Animals of The Farm.  Much fun was had!

Thanksgiving at The Farm

From there, we traveled to Emily's house.  Another full house of crazy family awaited us.  Here, we enjoyed dessert, and then a few hours later, leftovers.  One of the highlights of the Riney Family Thanksgiving is that it has CHEESE.  I tell Sam this fact is what tipped the scales and helped me decide to marry into the family.  Really Gwen, it's like we were destined to eat Thanksgiving together.

Here we enjoyed the evening with the Chicago/Milwaukee arm of the family: George and Pam from Chicago proper, Casey, Sarah and Pat Masterson from Milwaukee (ish), Guy from Peoria, and the usual Riney suspects from here (Tom, Gwen, Em, Steve, Gigi, Becky, and Pete).  Patrick and Casey don't get to see each other very often, but had lots of fun while they were together.

We neglected to bring our camera in the house at Emily's; so there are only pics of my mom's house.  But rest assured, the whole day was lovely.  I'm pretty sure I had dessert five times before I went to bed.  Grandma Huber's apple pie recipe is still alive and well.  Dad and I make at least two each year and they never disappoint!

Coming Soon: "What I'm Thankful for in 2010" (I swear).

A Morning in the Life of Eva Grace

So Eva is a cutie patootie and a few weeks ago I started taking pictures of her while she was still sleeping.  She sleeps like this almost every night.  Her legs are tucked up underneath her and she crosses her feet.  It looks terribly uncomfortable, but she apparently enjoys it. 

Anyway, below is a link with a few pics of her cuteness.  I'm considering taking photos of Patrick in the morning, but it would just be mean.  He wakes up like his mama...grumpy.  Come to think of it, I think I may have already done a blog post about Patrick in the morning.  Anyway,  Eva is a happy little girl when she wakes up.

In the photo of her walking out of her bedroom, she's dragging her blankie.  Nowadays, she makes me hold the other end and she leads me around the house giggling until I finally have to let go and continue about my morning.  Enjoy Hooligan fans!

Eva in the Morning

Here is a photo of me and Eva.  She is still holding her pink blankie, which is now one of the top 3 most washed items in our house.

Also in the slideshow you'll see her standing in her chair at the table eating yogurt.  She does death defying antigravity acts simultaneously with her yogurt/cheerio consumption.  What a turkey!  That's why we call her Eva Kinevil.  :)

Coming Up Next: Thanksgiving 2010 and an unfortunately delayed "What I'm Thankful For in 2010" Post

Halloween 2010 - Sully and Boo

This Halloween was another smashing success.  Patrick was Sully and Eva was Boo.  LOTS of adorable photos of the kids and some of their cousins. 

There are also some photos of a mess that we made for Patrick's Halloween party and St. Francis.  Sam and I, the coolest parents ever, made a giant tub of orange jello, marshmellows, coconut, tiny toys, grapes, etc.  The kids got to dig around with their hands and search for the toys.
Finally, you'll see some photos of Sam and the kids carving pumpkins.  We even toasted the pumpkin seeds.  We had so  much fun this year, as per usual.  :)

Hooligans at Halloween

Fall 2010

This fall brought lots of fun to the Riney Hooligan's.  At the link below, you'll find photos of Eva's first haircut, a nature walk at the farm, a morning where Eva made some toast and more.  Eva had her first haircut at mom's house.  Bunny cut it over about an hour while Miss Eva played and had lunch, etc.  She has little baby bangs and is cuter than ever.  Thank you Bunny!



After



Before

During

Patrick was assigned a "Nature Walk" for homework, so we took a long, educational walk around the farm.  We found great stuff like pine cones, a very special bird's nest, a cat tail, leaves, hickory nuts, and much, much more.



There are also a few photos of Eva in Patrick's laundry hamper.  We couldn't locate her the other day and this is where Sam found her hiding.  We heard a giggle come from Patrick's room and she was in there hiding.

Hooligans in the Fall

Day at the Pumpkin Patch

Ok, so my posts my be a little out of order, but this one is about our day at the pumpkin patch a few weeks ago.  Sam and I took the kids to Eckert's in Grafton.  We took a tractor ride through the apple orchard to the pumpkin patch.  Each of the kids picked out their own pumpkin.  This process took awhile and we found lots of interesting stuff, like a very interesting grasshopper that got chased around for a few minutes.

After pumpkin picking, the kids spent some time in the kid's area at the orchard.  We fed and played with goats, camels, piglets, chickens, etc.  Then we spent some time washing our hands and using LOTS of hand sanitizer.  We had some apple cider and headed home.

Day at the Pumpkin Patch

Hooligan Parents Escape!

Even Momma and Daddy Hooligan get out once in a while!  We went to a wedding in downtown STL at the Hyatt Regency.  The ceremony and then dance floor were on the rooftop across the street from the Arch.  Beautiful evening!
Big Night Out

Eva's 2nd Birthday

Eva Grace has been with us for 2 years.  I cannot believe it.  She is adorable, amazingly brave, sassy, smart and beautiful.  She and Patrick play pretty well together.  Eva calls him Bubby and Pabby.  We all call Eva, Sissy.  She goes to daycare three days a week at St. Francis. 
Eva is fearless.  She can climb the rock wall on our playground and likes to do whatever her big brother is doing.  She is starting to talk up a storm. 
Her birthday was lovely.  We had a party at our house.  Sam made a Zhu Zhu pet cake.  Evie LOVED it, but she wasn't too keen on destroying it for eating until Patrcik got involved.  Gwen and I made the cupcakes.  My momma made regular chili and white chicken chili...yummmmm!
Lots of love for Eva.  How lucky our kiddos are to be so loved by so many great people.  I am filled with gratitude.

Eva's 2nd Birthday Photos

Update on the Hooligans

Finally!  I've caught up on photos from this summer.  They are at the link below.  Some are from special days, but most are just miscellaneous fun stuff.  Eva and Patrick are both growing up SO fast.

Patrick is  4 and going to pre-K at St. Francis Day Care and 4 year old pre-school at Evangelical.  He is a yellow 2 belt in Tae Kwon Do at Piasa Martial Arts and just finished soccer clinic with Parks & Rec.  Homework is new for him this year, so we're trying hard to keep up with that.  So far so good; Patrick has learned to write almost half of the letters in the alphabet.

Eva is growing like a weed and getting sassier by the minute.  She is going to day care three days a week.  She adores her Patrick and follows him around faithfully.  She also loves to feed the dogs.  Eva just turned two last week.  I can't believe Hooligan #4 has been around 2 years already. 

As usual, Sam and I are busy with work.  Real estate work has picked up for me quite a bit toward the end of summer and into fall.  I'm finishing up my 5th year on the Board at the YWCA of Alton; I'll be done at the end of the year.  This fall, I'm joining Junior League.  Sam continues as Treasurer for the PBPA (APD union).

Overall, we're all healthy and happy.  We're looking forward to another super cute Halloween!

LOTS OF HOOLIGANS PHOTOS 

Patrick's 4th Birthday Party

Below is a link with photos of Patrick's 4th birthday party.  He got a playset with the help of lots of friends and family that love him.  Sam assembled it, slowly but surely.  Both Patrick and Eva LOVE it!  Thanks so much to everyone that helped.
The party was a Maw Maw's house.  We had an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen with Spider Man on it and spider cupcakes that Daddy made.
We all had lots of fun!

Happy 4th  Birthday to my sweet baby boy.

P's 4th Birthday Pics 

Independence Day 2010

Below is a link with pictures from July 4th this year.  The first bunch are from the Alton Fireworks with Nana and Papa.  The second bunch are from MawMaw and DooDah's house.  Let me just say that Eva was NOT ready for sparklers, high stress for mommy.  Otherwise it was great.  I think I spent most of the time watching the kids faces rather than the fireworks. 

Independence Day 2010 Pics

Kansas City, KS 2010 - Great Wolf Lodge

Ok, so the Hooligans have TOTALLY neglected the blog this summer.  Let's chalk it up to the following: 1.  Summer happens to be a busy season for real estate and municipal policing.  and 2.  We've just been having lots of fun!

I'm going to make an effort to catch everyone up on our summer thus far.  Below is a link of our trip to Kansas City.  Sam and I took the kids to Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City, KS.  It has a great indoor/outdoor water park.  It's a kid centric resort and we all had a blast.  We stopped in Columbia, MO and spent a night with Aunt Susie and their family on the way there.  My fav pics though are at the Olive Garden...you'll know when you get to them.  :)

Click Here to see the photos of our trip.  I promise they're fun!

Spring Fling 2010

Katie and I took the kids down the Alton Marina and the Ampitheater.  Beautiful day and beautiful kids.  We had lots of fun and spent almost 2 hours taking pics (well, this included a wardrobe and location change).  Anyway, again, Katie did not disappoint.  The link below has a sampling of great pics from the day.  these haven't been edited yet, so if you're a grandma, auntie or buddy that wants one for printing, let me know and I'll get it cleaned up for you.  Enjoy!

Spring Fling 2010

You can see Katie's other work at http://www.thankfulphotography.com/

An Introspective on Motherhood

So on Mother's Day, I thought I'd share a few of thoughts on motherhood.  Having seen it from both sides now, I now know that it truly is mothers that make the world go round.  Don't get me wrong, dads are very important people too.  However, today I'm going to honor the sacred right of motherhood.

I've never really been a person that likes kids.  I didn't ever fantasize about having any of my own and if it weren't for the strong encouragement of my dearest Sam, we might still not have any.  But now we do...and I wouldn't have it any other way.  I swear to God, something happens to you somewhere in pregnancy.  For some, it happens the moment they see a plus sign on the little stick and for others, it waits until the baby makes it appearance in the world.  I hate to tell everyone our secret, but you become super-human as a mom.  It's like if you were playing a video game and all the sudden you get a big bonus of abilities.

I had never changed diapers before I had kids.  I didn't babysit or have any interest in my younger baby cousins.  I never got that maternal instinct until I actually gave birth.  Even when I was pregnant, I didn't feel a great attachment to my kids.  I fell into the latter group mentioned above.  However, once I saw my babies, there was no going back.  I changed poop diapers like a pro from the beginning.  Don't get me wrong, sometimes they're REALLY gross, but you just deal with it and go on the with the day.  There is no running out of the room and leaving it to someone else.

It's almost like when you birth your child, your heart exits your body along with the baby and you spend the rest of your life with your heart on the outside.  I recognize that I'm only at the beginning of this journey of motherhood, but I feel super-human most days.  I look back at the end of the day and I'm like, "Really?!, I did all that today?  And I did it in business casual clothes and heels?"

Reviewing my life now, from the perspective of a mother, I marvel at the sacrifices my own mom made for my brother and me.  I'm so proud of how she raised us.  We're compassionate, thinking people.  We were taught to value integrity and family.  Ok, and she gave us both a healthy appreciation for cheese and garlic.  :)  Thank you mom, for being who you are, and for letting us be who we are.

There are many other women out there who have played a mothering role for me and/or my kids.  I truly believe that it takes a village and boy, do we have a village!  I'm so fortunate to be surrounded by strong, amazing women.  I've got so many great role models and my kids have no idea how lucky they are to have all of these great women in their lives.  I value all the different perspectives and attitudes.

There are so many women in this world who work tirelessly to nuture the children (babies to grown up kids) in their lives.  I've learned that getting your kids through their childhood is just the beginning.  Thank you for all you do.

A Few Gems From Patrick

Patrick and I were just practicing the alphabet. When we got to "x," he says, "that's where treasures live!" X marks the spot...get it?
This morning at breakfast, I was encouraging him to hurry up with breakfast so that we weren't late for school. He said, "you have to be patient mom." Hilarious!
The last one for today...the Wonder Pets say in every show, "This is serious!" Patrick walks around saying, "This is sillious!"

Fun Stuff

Yes folks, that is Miss Katie B riding the tiny scooter around the driveway.  Tee hee.  :)

Katie and patrick chillin in the driveway.

Miss Eva was a rockstar on this day.  Loved it!

Mommy and Evita, rocking the shades.

Easter 2010

We had a wonderful Easter.  The kids were beautiful.  They both had a wonderful time searching for eggs.  Although Patrick wouldn't touch the real eggs because they "felt yucky."   He liked the plastic ones because they had treats in them.  Great day all around.
Easter Pics

Artistic Genius

This is Patrick's representation of "his family."  The big green blobs represent Sam and me.  The other four are "Patrick, Eva, Libby and Moo."  Patrick came up with this all on his own and then explained it to me when he was all finished.

This is a self portrait that Patrick did.  I think it's pretty darn good.  You can clearly see a face with some crazy eyes, legs, feet. 

Not to brag, but...

Ok people, seriously, my children are geniuses. 

My daughter is all of 17.5 months old.  Lately she's been showing interest in the potty.  She kept walking into the bathroom with us and lifting up the shirt as she walks up to the toilet.  So we brought up the little potty.  Now, she runs to the bathroom yelling while pulling up her shirt.  The other night, by the time I got her shoes, pants and diaper off, she peed on the floor.  However, hold on  to your hats folks...while sitting on the potty for a while...SHE PEED ON THE POTTY!  Unfortunately, she is too small for pull ups, so the diaper thing is going to conintue to be an obstacle.  By the time we can get it off, it's too late.  Either way, she's a genius.  I chalk this early development up to a few things: she's female, she's a second child, and all that breastmilk (I know TMI).  We're so proud of her!

Now, on to Patrick.  He said "remarkable" the other day.  Remarkable!  He's three and says the most amazing things.  And he remembers EVERYTHING!  He's learning some Spanish too.  Hola, adios, leche, queso, gracias, (pronounced glacias), de nada, etc.  He asked me the other day, "How much till I grow up mommy?  If I eat a lot of food, I'll grow up?"  He also told me a while back that he wanted to be a police officer when he grew up.  He asked if that would be ok.  I told him he could be anything he wanted.  He said, "ok, I'll be a police officer or a circus clown."  I kid you not people.

My children are magical.  Thanks for indulging me a few details of their lives.  I hope I can save this blog in written form someday so that I might have some recollection of their childhood.  My memory is terrible.

Some of Evie's Favorite Things

This shelf holds tea cups that Eva and I have recieved from my mom. The first came at my baby shower and the next on the day she was born. We get them on special holidays now: Christmas, birthdays, etc. Anyway, it's a special thing between the three of us. I've taken pictures of each tea cup individually and put them in an album with a photo of me and Eva from that day/time period. This way, if in her childhood, one or more gets broken, I won't get too upset. And it will serve as a nice keepsake for whichever of us doesn't keep the collection.





This bookshelf holds lots of goodies like her piggy bank, a baby photo, the aforementioned album, some sweet book ends, a pretty lamp, Evie's treasure box, and some great books. I love this bookshelf; except when it's time to dust.








The above shoes are precious. My baby daughter officially has more shoes than her momma. That's ok with me. I'm not a shoe girl. Eva, on the other hand, is way into accessories. Hats, shoes, even bibs. She'll put on multiple hats or all her bibs at once. It's funny, Eva is a girly girl and a tom girl all at the same time. Very versatile she is! :)

Catching Up

Alright, life has gotten so crazy, I've TOTALLY slacked on blogging and posting pics of the Hooligans. I've posted an album of our fun day sledding at my mom's house. Also, there's a great album of some SUPER cuties from January.

We've all been well. Real estate work is picking up since the holidays are over and the tax credit advantages are in full swing. Sam's keeping busy with work at the police department and the union. He's also been working at the furniture store on the books. Patrick and Eva have been exploring their independence, each in their own way. Fun times for us. Eva had her first pig tails today...OMG, she was SO cute! I'll try to take pics next time she lets us do it. She will not let me put them in, her teacher at day care apparently has the magic touch.

We're enjoying the kids and continuing our journey to be healthier.

http://www.rineyhooligans.shutterfly.com/