MTMOYMC - Recap and Other Happenings in the Rickard House

Although the three week challenge of Make the Most of Your Mornings has officially expired, I see it as an ongoing, daily "challenge" for me.  With the arrival of fall comes a busy schedule for our family: a lot of family birthdays (almost always out of town), hunting season = more traveling, preschool has commenced for Ben, etc.  I've also joined a small group from our church, Rooftop Community Church, and we meet one night a week to have fellowship, deeper community, accountability and to encourage one another.  Right now we are studying the book: Waking the Dead: the Glory of a Heart Fully Alive, by John Eldridge.  So far we've only read and discussed the first two chapters, and already I can say this book is a MUST read, a REVOLUTIONARY book for me, and any Christian that wants/needs insight on spiritual warfare.  I'm excited to see what else the Lord will reveal to me through this book, his Word and our small group.

Nolan's first Cardinals Game - October 3, last home game of the regular season

Oh yeah, there's also some local sports team that's made the post-season playoffs, something about Red October:)?  You might be familiar with the St. Louis Cardinals?!  We continue to cheer them on and hope that the Redbirds will capture a twelfth World Series title in 2012, no less.
I do love fall!  Camping, cool weather, the natural beauty of the seasons changing, pumpkin anything/everything, warm hearty soups, the list goes on.  OK, back to that MTMOYMC, as I said, I see it as an ongoing challenge.  I desire to begin each day that God gives me with the right start.  For me, that means rising early, before dawn, spending quiet time, all alone with God and his Word, just me and Him; hopefully a little exercise to get me energized and to help me FEEL more confident for the day ahead; etc. This gives me peace, clarity, energy, and a more positive mind set.  As I'm writing this update I realize that it's past my bedtime to get that early start, and that has been a big struggle for me lately.  From getting home late due to ballgames and small group, to getting woke up 3-4 times a night by my teething one year old, I have to say that I'm struggling big time with meeting my early rise time.  When I don't rise early, a lot of things happen out of order, or just don't get done at all.  I mean it when I say, if I want any alone time it has to come before dawn or it will not happen.  "Sleeping in" in our house is 7 AM, seriously.  People that have known me for a long time, like back in my adolescent days, know how hard of an adjustment this has been for me.  I used to sleep until 10 AM, or later!  The idea of that happening now is actually disturbing, what a waste of precious morning time, but still, I wouldn't mind being able to rise at 7 AM every day and still have a good hour before my boys are up.  Oh well, God has other plans:)  I will continue to strive to be an early riser and to MTMOMM, and hope that over time this will be less of a "challenge" and just mere habit!
Other happenings in the Rickard House: Nolan has taken his first step, TONIGHT actually!!  Yes, my sweet 14 month old baby boy actually let go of the table and took a step toward none other than his big brother, Benny. A very proud moment for us!  Also, Nolan has 14 teeth now - part of the contribution to poor sleeping:(  The poor guy has never gotten one tooth at a time, they usually come in fours, or more.  Hopefully he'll be finished for a long time after the last 4 come in.  I think that's right - hard to do math at 10:30 PM for this mamma.
Benjamin continues to make us laugh and amazes us with his clever creativity.  He is such an outgoing, social and sweet boy.  He actually tells me that I'm pretty, or that my hair is pretty, on a regular basis.  He knows how to charm his mamma:)  He also makes us very proud with what a loving, protective and kind big brother he is.  I just know that he and Nolan will be best friends all of their lives.  They are already so close that if one of them is upset or crying, the other one is as well.  They play together, laugh together and yes, sometimes cry together.  Ben cannot wait until Nolan can "talk to him".  That day is coming, soon I hope!
Eddie and I are just grateful for how the Lord continues to bless us.  We have all that we need and more, we are incredibly BLESSED.  Cheers, and happy reading!
BTW, I will post some new pics of the boys VERY soon from a photo shoot they had last month.  SO CUTE!

Day 14 - Make the Most of Your Mornings Challenge

I realized that updating my blog on the progress of the "Make the Most of Your Mornings" challenge is my accountability, so here is how it's been going since day 1.
You know how I mentioned that my two boys are early birds?  Well, there have been several days when I rise as early as I possibly can, only to realize one, if not both, of my boys are already up as well.  Yeah, so much for 'alone time'.  But that's OK!  I've learned that you have to roll with the punches and make adjustments, but don't assume the whole day is lost.  This also goes for 'falling off the wagon'; it really is OK, dust yourself off and start again the next day.  I think it's important to know that life is always unpredictable, especially with young children in the house, and if you can't be flexible then you're going to get frustrated and be disappointed.   Crystal has posts on her blog to address each one of these issues.  It's normal, it happens, and you can recover. Money Saving Mom - Make the Most of Your Mornings
So, what are the most important things I've learned so far?  If I don't go to bed by 10 PM I can forget rising before 6 AM the next morning.  I require at least 7 hours of sleep to function well the next day.  I learned the hard way this summer that if I let my body get run down, there will be consequences.  I have piles of hospital bills to prove it:)  After spending 4 days in the hospital and being down and out for 3 weeks recovering from PNEUMONIA, I have learned the importance of REST.  Allowing your body to get the rest it needs affects every aspect of your life.  You will be a better mother, employee, wife, friend and so on, if you make rest a priority.  What good will it do if I stay up hours at night trying to finish cleaning, reading, etc, if it means I may not be around at all tomorrow??  Yes, my illness was that serious!

Lesson #2: If you can't beat 'em, take 'em with!  If Ben and Nolan are up in the morning before I've gotten a morning workout in, I try to find a physical activity that includes them.  After this happened once I realized it's actually more fun to include them in my workout, sometimes.  Now, on Tuesday and Thursdays I load them in our bike trailer and set out for a nice ride through our neighborhood.  Tuesdays and Thursdays work best for the morning bike ride because Ben has preschool on M W F.  If you could see my neighborhood, one ginormous hill after another, and bearing in mind I'm towing an extra 90+ lbs behind me, you would probably understand why our bike rides last no longer than 30 minutes:)  On a nice Saturday morning or Sunday afternoon we head down to Grant's Trail because it's scenic, perfect for cyclists, close to our house, and it's FLAT.  Mommy can pedal a lot further and faster on the Trail.

All in all, I'm enjoying this challenge so far and really hope that I'll continue to make progress into "Making the Most of My Mornings".  When I start my day right: rested, as early as possible, with exercise, and meditating with God and his Word, the rest of my day tends to go smoother.
Things to work on:

• Meeting my 9:30 - 10ish bedtime every night 
• Keeping the boys in a good bedtime routine so that they'll hopefully sleep until 6:30, or later:)
• Really focus on exercising first so that I can shower and change before the rest of my day begins

Cheers!

Day 1: Money Saving Mom's "Make the Most of Your Mornings" Challenge

I recently started following the Money Saving Mom Blog.  This blog not only empowers and inspires women to be better stewards of their finances, but of their homes as well.  I found her recent "Make the Most of Your Mornings" challenge to be very encouraging and something that I need to incorporate into my daily routine.  (What routine??)  Exactly.  So, today is day 1 for me.  I am taking the challenge and began my morning at 5:35 AM.  Yep, you read that correctly.  And I started it with a bang: 30 minutes of cardio on the treadmill.  I felt energized and ready to take charge of this challenge, as well as my household.  If you'd like to read more about this challenge, and accept the mission, here is the link to read all of the helpful tidbits.Money Saving Mom's "Make the Most of Your Morning" 3 Week Challenge  Last night I made sure to make out my 5 'must dos' before bedtime, and although my bedtime goal was 9:30, I made it by 10.  Not bad for the first attempt.  I also made sure I had Ben's clothes laid out for his first day of preschool, and I had my workout gear laid out so that as soon as I got out of bed I put it all on.  NO excuses not to start the morning with some exercise.  My kids are early birds, always have been, so unless I'm up before dawn I will not have ANY alone time in the morning.  I liked getting my exercise out of the way so that I won't find a million excuses NOT to workout today.  It also gets my blood pumping and those feel good endorphins going.  Ben was up by 6:15 so I had to postpone my shower to whip up some pancakes for him.  After showering, dressing in something 'that makes me feel good', and downing some hotcakes myself, I sat down with my cup of coffee and did my morning devotional - reading God's word.  By this time Nolan is up and my day continues....I hope to give regular updates on how this challenging is going, not just to encourage other women to try it, but to also hold myself accountable.  Cheers, and happy reading!

Old Friends & Apple Pie

Raelyn & Ben @the Lion King

Over the Labor Day holiday, we had a fun filled weekend packed with family time and catching up with old friends.  Saturday night, Eddie, Benjamin and I met up with my best friend, Rhiannon, her husband, two children, and her parents, niece and nephews.  Rhiannon and I have known each other since junior high, after I moved to Buffalo, Mo, and started attending youth group at Calvary Chapel.  However, our friendship didn't blossom to the deep connection we have today until after high school.  Through my close relationship with her mother, Shirley, the former youth leader at Calvary Chapel; and similar life events, not to mention our mutual appreciation for Aerosmith, Cher and chocolate, Rhiannon and I bonded.  The bond hasn't been broken and continues to deepen as we've married, moved several hundred miles away from each other, celebrated and sympathized with one another through the pregnancies and births of four children (two for her, two for me:), and encouraged each other through our spiritual walk with Christ.  Needless to say, seeing all of them this weekend was revitalizing, to say the least.  We attended the Broadway production of Disney's the Lion King at the Fabulous Fox Theater, this is a MUST SEE, and the theater itself is breathtaking.  On Sunday we survived a family trip to the Magic House, (note to self: holiday weekend+rainy weather+free entry with school supplies=MADNESS at the Magic House).  We concluded the day by unwinding and refueling at one of our favorite St. Louis pizza places, Fortel's Pizza Den.
On Monday, Eddie, the boys and I met his parents at Suson Park for a family picnic.  Eddie's mom insisted on not just bringing the meat (fried chicken), but the sides as well.  She told me all I needed to bring was the desert.  Of course, I must go all out and bring one heck of a desert if she's doing the rest of the work.  Homemade apple pie sounded appropriate, so I sat out to find the best homemade apple pie recipe possible.  I had two requirements: it must use a double crust recipe, and it has to include fresh apples, not canned.  It wasn't hard to find a tantalizing recipe via Pinterest, and below is a link to the recipe as well as a picture.  I made only a few modifications: I added a 1/2 tsp of cinnamon (can't have apple pie without cinnamon in my opinion), and I used salted butter and butter flavored shortening in the crust recipe.  The family was impressed and I received rave reviews.  I'll definitely file this recipe away to use at Thanksgiving.  Thank you, Pinterest, and CountryLiving! 


Apple Pie Recipe (Country Living via Pinterest)

Pastry:

• 2 1/2 cup(s) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
• 10 tablespoon(s) cold butter (salted) or margarine, cut up
• 6 tablespoon(s) vegetable shortening (butter flavor)
• 6 1/2 tablespoon(s) ice water

Apple Filling:

• 2/3 cup(s) sugar
• 1/3 cup(s) cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon(s) nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon(s) salt
• 3 1/2 pound(s) Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, and/or Braeburn apples, each peeled, cored, and cut into 16 wedges
• 1 tablespoon(s) fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoon(s) butter or margarine, cut up
• 1 large egg white, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon(s) sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

---

Directions

1. To prepare pastry: In food processor with knife blade attached, blend flour and salt. Add butter and shortening, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle in ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing after each addition, until large moist crumbs just begin to form.
2. Shape dough into 2 balls, 1 slightly larger. Flatten each into a disk; wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes or overnight. (If chilled overnight, let stand 30 minutes at room temperature before rolling.)
3. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place cookie sheet on rack in lower third of preheating oven to bake pie on later. To prepare apple filling: In large bowl, combine sugar with cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add apples and lemon juice, and toss to coat evenly.
4. On lightly floured surface, with floured rolling pin, roll larger disk of dough into 12-inch round. Ease dough into 9 1/2-inch deep-dish glass or ceramic pie plate. Gently press dough against bottom and up side of plate without stretching. Trim dough edge, leaving 1-inch overhang; reserve trimmings. Spoon apple mixture into pie crust; dot with butter.
5. Roll remaining disk for top crust into 12-inch round. Center round over filling in bottom crust. Trim pastry edge, leaving 1-inch overhang; reserve trimmings. Fold overhang under; bring up over pie-plate rim and pinch to form stand-up edge, then make decorative edge. Brush crust with some egg white. Reroll trimmings. With knife or cookie cutters, cut out apple and/or leaf shapes; arrange on pie. Cut short slashes in round to allow steam to escape during baking. Brush cutouts with egg white, then sprinkle crust and cutouts with sugar.
6. Bake pie 1 hour 10 minutes or until apples are tender when pierced with knife through slits in crust. To prevent over-browning, cover pie loosely with tent of foil after 40 minutes. Cool pie on wire rack 3 hours to serve warm. Or cool completely to serve later.

Not bad for my 1st homemade apple pie

New and improved?

Over the last two years life has changed dramatically. I went from a full-time working momma of a sweet two year old boy, to a stay-at-home / work part-time from home mother of TWO beautiful boys; survived a major home remodeling project, and celebrated two more years of marital bliss. As I'm still adjusting to my new lifestyle and routine, I've found more and more people use blogging not just to inform, but to inspire, encourage and entertain fellow friends, family and perfect strangers. Writing has always been my 'creative outlet', (well, that and cooking), so I'm dedicating my former "All About the Benjamin" blog page to a new attempt at venting, sharing and hopefully uplifting anyone who happens upon my humble, but newly renovated blog. Cheers, and happy reading!

Terrific Twos! (10 -10 -10)

I decided I should attempt at least one update this year:) Needless to say it has been a busy one - keeping up w/a two year old, maintaining our home, working full-time - life never slows down! I must admit that as Benjamin approached two I was already dreading the infamous 'terrible twos'. Now, I can honestly say that this has been my favorite age yet! It started out with some erratic tantrums as Eddie and I learned the ropes of disciplining a toddler, but thankfully that 'phase' didn't last too long.
Throughout the last 8 months, Ben has grown and learned so much. He can sing his ABC's w/no help, he can count to 20, he can sing the months of the year and days of the week, and the greatest accomplishment - he is potty trained! This was also something I dreaded but thanks to encouragement and help from his day-care teachers and peers, and Ben's ability to learn quickly, it wasn't so bad after-all. We're going on 2 1/2 months of being potty trained and I'm so thankful we're finished buying diapers! Ben's vocabulary has also progressed very rapidly. The two sweetest phases he has told me this year: "Mom, you so pretty" and "Mom, I love you SO much". He melts our hearts and amazes us with his sweet, loving nature. I'm also very proud to say that we're raising an avid reader. Ben loves books and many times we'll find him sitting quietly in his room with a pile of books, flipping through page by page, 'reading' out loud:)
He's also become much more independent. He wants to do almost everything by himself. Climbing in and out of the high chair, the car-seat, closing doors, pulling on his underwear, shorts, shoes, etc. It wasn't that long ago when I was carrying him into day-care and his teachers would pry him off of me, but now he walks in, hangs his jacket, hat and sunglasses in his cubby every morning before turning and waiving to me saying "bye-bye Mommy". It's bittersweet because it also shows how quickly he's growing up, but that's part of life.
Family news: Ben's cousin Saige turned 1 on May 19 and two months ago we found out Ben will have a new cousin, David and Courtney are expecting their first baby around Ben's birthday in early March!
Eddie and I attempted to sell our house this year but with the economy still being in a recession we decided to take it off the market and wait, hoping that next spring the market will improve.
On September 11 - 12 I rode in the MS 150 Ride, raising money and awareness for the Multiple - Sclerosis society. On Saturday I rode 75 miles throughout the beautiful country-side of rural mid-Missouri, beginning in Columbia, circling through Monroe County and then back to Columbia. On Sunday I opted for the shorter mileage route of 42 miles and had another beautiful ride through rural mid-Missouri. The event was challenging and exciting and something I look forward to participating in the years to come.
Looking ahead Eddie and I are considering new ventures in career opportunities and the hope of expanding our family, soon. With fall upon us we're enjoying some of our favorite past-times: spending time with our family and friends, football, hunting, harvesting, etc. Before we know the holidays will have come and gone once again. Time flies but we remember to slow down and recognize how much God has blessed us, more than we ever imagined and more than we deserve.

A Good Year for the Rickard Household

What constitutes a blog? Can you really call it a blog if you only update it once a quarter? Oh well, despite my tardiness in blogging, I thought I'd post a final update for 2009. All in all we've had a great year. Ben had his first birthday and his first haircut; Eddie and I took an amazing vacation to the Southern Caribbean and celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary; we took our first "family vacation" to San Antonio and visited some wonderful friends; and we've watched Ben grow and develop into an amazing, beautiful toddler!

Ben's Updates / Milestones
Ben started attending day-care in August of this year. We decided it was the best decision for us as a family, rather than driving an hour and fifteen minutes everyday for a baby-sitter whom we loved, we had to consider the toll the commute was taking on us as a family and our overall way of life. We were exhausted and had less time to spend together. I learned from several co-workers that there is a great day-care only 2 blocks from my office. It wasn't the easiest transition, but he did adjust after a little time and he's now to the point of crying when it's time to go home! I guess that's a good thing...
Ben's passion for anything w/four wheels has deepened. He LOVES cars, trucks, tractors, four-wheelers, etc. 'Car' was one of his first words, and one that he still uses regularly. He also loves airplanes. I think he could work for Air Traffic Control b/c he can spot an airplane in the dark of night, from inside the house he hears them, anytime of day - rain or shine, he can spot and point out an airplane!
This fall Ben had his second Trick-or-Treating experience and he was a fireman. He made an adorable one, and really seemed to grasp the concept of Trick-or-Treating. In fact, he thought he had it figured out by the last house and was more than happy to reach in the candy bowl and help himself to all of the candy! Luckily for Ben he's cute and can get away w/that, for now:)
He's also started using more and more words, and he's putting them together now. Some of my favorite phrases: 'Love you Mommy', 'Love you Daddy', 'Daddy home', 'Mommy home', 'I tooted', (quickly followed by a mischievous grin and 'scuse me'), 'I got it' (when he's helping Daddy feed/water the dogs), 'It's cold', and 'thank you'.
He had his first "real" haircut! This was slightly traumatizing, for Mommy anyway. But he's adorable regardless and I'm not bias or anything. Below is a before picture, and then after his trip to the barbershop.



Family Vacation
Eddie and I decided to take up some of our good friends on an offer to visit and stay with them anytime we liked after they moved to San Antonio a few years ago. Eddie and I discussed it many times, but finally decided to make it happen this fall. We booked our trip for the first weekend in December because we knew by then it would be very cold in Missouri, but nice and mild in Texas. WELL, we were halfway right. Missouri was cold, but it just so happened Texas had one of their very rare cold snaps the weekend we visited, in fact, in many parts of Texas they received record amounts of snow! None the less, we had a wonderful time and Ben had his first opportunity to ride on an airplane. We saw some awesome sites: Sea World & Shamu; The Alamo; and The Riverwalk at Christmas time. We ate some delicious Mexican cuisine, and had an amazing time visiting Bob and Patrice. BTW, the Cooks are wonderful hostesses! Thanks Bob and Patrice!

Looking Ahead
In 2010, Eddie and I are hoping to sell our home and move to a more "rural" environment. We like the idea of being able to look out our windows and see trees and nature, and not other houses. Of course, we love our neighbors - they are all awesome and we are so blessed to live in such a nice, quiet neighborhood...but we both feel we're ready to move on. Eddie is continuing to work towards his degree in Computer / Information Technology; and I'm currently working on an independent side job selling BeautiControl products, which I love! It's a lot of fun, but I'm still working at Sigma-Aldrich full-time. Ben will turn 2 in March, and Eddie will turn 30!! That is so hard to believe, but we look forward to it. And my younger brother David is getting married on March 20 to his very sweet, very beautiful fiancee, Courtney. We've also been attending a really amazing church called Rooftop Community Church, and we're planning/hoping to become more active and involved. We've tried other churches, but we both feel this is where God wants us to be. So all in all, we've had a great year in 2009 and we're really looking forward to 2010!