My first

February 22, 2006. Ohhhh wow! I remember that day so much. Even nitty gritty details and for those that know me, you know that is totally out of the norm for me. I always tell my friends that i will be the first with alzeimers because i have the WORST memory. Anyhow, back to what this post is about. Riley. The girl that has stole my heart from the day that we found out she was coming. I won't go into ALL of the details from that day, since it is already written all over books and journals I have from then. What I will get into though is how we just passed February 22, 2011. Really?? For Real? Did anyone see that happen?
Where did this go??

I have a very hard time some days gripping the fact that the kids are growing so fast. I sit in bed at the end of the day and wonder "Did I do everything that I possibly could with the kids today?" Most days, I feel like the answer is no. Then the next day comes, we scramble to get out the door so i can get to work on time, I rush home with butterflies in my stomach because I know they will be yelling "MOMMY!!" and waiting for me at the top of the stairs, and then it begins....

Riley is mad about this, she doesn't want this that way or even want it period, she does want something and she wants it NOW as if the world was ending. And then...dinner, clean up dinner, baths, teeth brushing, story time, and OMG its 9:30 you have got to get to bed. And then the whole saga about the next day before this one has even ended..."NO Mom! I am NOT going to preschool tomorrow". Lights are out and guess what...we do it all again the next day.
Next thing i know, she will be 16 years old.

For now though she is my 5 year old. I love this girl sooo much. Everything about her (again, minus that tude she can surely let loose). She is so Smart. Beautiful. Helpful. Caring. Funny. Loving. and she is one of the shyest girls i know. Getting better though. Some things that she asks at this age and things she says just makes me laugh most of the time.
The other day driving she asked me "Mom, when babies get pulled out of their mommies, how do the mommies get their skin back together again?"  So we had a loong discussion on "the real" scenarios of child birth. Then just today i heard this conversation between Riley and Ayden. Mind you, I was not listening to the beginning unfortunately so I have no idea what started this.
Riley "no you didn't Ayden, you came out of mommies belly and I came out of her vagina" WOW. So my little parrot Ayden, repeats her. "Oh yeah, I came out of her belly and your head came out of her vagina." When i said earlier that I had a talk about "real" birth. It did not come up in discussion about how either of them entered into this world, so she got me there.
Her favorite shows are on the Discovery Channel. Her and Tim will sit for hours and watch those programs. She loves to learn and she does listen to fine detail.
To celebrate Rileys 5th birthday, we had 15 of her close friends and also new friends from preschool at a local bowling alley for a party. It was a great time and she had a blast.
I look forward to watching her grow and learn more. I look forward to seeing her learn life lessons and just seeing where life takes her in general. For now...I am going to enjoy every moment of my first born. Riley Elizabeth Hilgert <3

                                            

Was i excited to get it, yes!

With weekdays like this though, time energy just isn't on my side. Work = 10 hours. Dinner = Bratwurst, buttered noodles, & peas (thanks Tim). Had the kids get undressed for shower time, 1/2 hour later they were still running around the house naked. Shower time, little bit of play time, bed time routine. Now - Teen Mom for me (pathetic??) and then finally I opened it.. My Photo Shop Box. I want more time for me but i NEVER want the kids to ever grow up. I love them right where they are (minus a few eensy weensy details).
So i must go now because to use and learn my photo shop, i gotta do more than just take it out of the box.


Oh really quick - Valentines Day!  The kids LOVED getting all of their cool Valentines (so i heard, i wasnt actually present). Riley had "Special friend Day" at school. Aunt Jae got to attend. We had mom over for a delicious spaghetti dinner (thanks again, Tim)


I got Tim a Wii game that he has wanted and he got me, well us (BONUS) a weekend at the Hershey Spa. OMG! Is it may 14th yet? With me working saturdays every other month - May is the soonest he could get us in. Works out - its our 8 year wedding anniversary weekend. I can feel the peace now!

A day late, but not forgotten

We had a busy Saturday that involved me being at work for 8 hours and ended with Riley having her friend Kaydence over for a sleepover. You can view the picture later for an "enough said" on that one!


February 12th is also a special day for us around here. Mr. Hilgert's Birthday!! I think this year I personally didn't make it as special as i should have because i am still overcoming all of the "first" without my dad. I promise to never let that happen again. Mr. H was a great man. I loved him from the moment I met him. (he loved me to)  He had a smile that i just loved and was just the sweetest. He was also one of the strongest men i have met in my life. He was diabetic and had alot of issues because of it. It started with him having a toe amputated. After the 2nd or 3rd on the same foot, the dr's told him he wouldnt be able to walk without a cane/walker or probably use that foot for driving. WRONG. He did it all. Eventually he ended up having to be amputated up to his knee, which then ended his driving. But he fought with all he had until it came to that.


I have alot of special memories with him in the 8 years of knowing him. Too many special ones to mention in detail - but a few are him telling Tim that "that girl likes u" the first time he saw me, him coming over to our apartment for hours, just to hang out, us going to the hospital to tell him we were engaged, our wedding and the speech he gave to me, telling him we were pregnant, my favorite one was taking Riley to meet her grandpa at LGH immediately after we were discharged from the hospital. That was a great moment!
He loved spending every minute he could with Riley and she loved him right back. Unfortunately he didnt personally get to meet our little man Ayden whose middle name Christopher, is after Mr H. We show him pics often so hopefully thru us, Ayden will know him.
I think of you often Mr. H! Thank you for raising such a great son. I hope that Ayden turns out just as great as Tim has!

                                                      

Happy Birthday.

My dad lost his battle with cancer on June 6th, 2010. Less than one year ago. Absolutely by far, the worst day of my life. I was very close to my grandma, who i lost on Dec 1, 09 and that was a very tough time. However, this is different for me. The older I got, the closer we got. He got to meet my children (not that i ever imagined he wouldn't). Him and Riley had a relationship like no other. The love between those two was enough to make my heart skip a few beats. When Ayden came along, my dad jumped right in there and formed that strong bond with him as well. I never thought for one moment, that those days would end so soon. When my dad got sick; I know this because he told me, that he was scared to and didnt want to leave them - not yet. That replays in my head all the time. The kids, i believe understand that pappy is gone and we will not see him again until we go to heaven. We talk to him, tell them stories about him, but even they also have their moments. When I am having one of mine (if it happens to be unstopped around the children), Riley will be right there hugging me and assuring me its ok because i have her, daddy, and Ayden. She is right. I wouldn't get dressed somedays if it wouldn't be for them. The last 2 weeks have been the toughest for me. Not having dad around for Aydens birthday, my brothers 40th birthday party, today his birthday, and next week Rileys 5th birthday party has finally caught up and came right on crashing down. It's hard. Something that made my day a little better was a beautiful bouquet of flowers and the best words I could read on a card delivered to me at work. Thank you Tim for being there. Thank you Riley and Ayden. I definately do have the best family. Thank you dad for all of the great memories you left me with. Happy first birthday in heaven.

                                            

Finally. About ME.

This has been hiding in my head trying to peak out for a LONG time. I stalk read some other blogs (mainly friends) and every time i close out, I have this guilty feeling. These girls have these memories and these places to mark special daily events, milestones, or just whatever. I totally need to get on board or someday i will regret. So here we go. I do keep a journal for the kids, when i write in it once a month - oops  ; x

Honestly, I am not even really sure how to begin, where to begin, or really what the ice breaker is here.

I got married to my hubby, Tim in 04. Got my 2 babies. 2 dogs. A bearded dragon. 4 fish. A turtle and a ton of stink bugs. We have completely grown out of our house that Tim and I bought a few months before our wedding and we hope to move mid next year.

At this time Riley will be 1...oh wait that was 4 years ago. WOW  She will be 5 in a few weeks. Ayden just turned 3. We have one crazy life. I'm a full-time working mama. Tim is a full time (3rd shift) working papa. I've been working at Verizon since 2002. It's a love hate relationship, but thankful for the place by far.
I love to take pictures but i'm not really good at it. Also another reason to start this blog. Hoping i can get some more practice with photo shop etc..

I'm thinking this is pretty much sums it up about me and my life today. I look forward to sharing our life stories and some great pics of some beautiful kids and most of all preserving memories <3

Mandy