A man... DUH!

Ryan + Amanda

2011-12-12T15:44:00.000-08:00

This is more for me than it is for you, but oh well!

Around either the end of October 2005 or the beginning of November 2005, Julie Birch (married to my brother, Aaron Ramos) kept insisting that I write her brother, Ryan - who was on his mission at the time.

I remember thinking "....no way - I'm not writing some total stranger that I have no chance with!"

Well...she kept it up and finally suggested that I at least e-mail him. I thought...yah, I can do that! So I did and here is a copy of that first e-mail I sent him:

From: Amanda Ramos
To: "speedbump_83@hotmail.com"
Cc:
Date: Sun, 13 Nov 2005 21:30:36 -0700
Subject: Hello Elder Birch

Hey Elder Birch! You don't know me...but your sister, Julie, insisted that I e-mail you, haha. I wrote you once before...it was a few months after I had moved here to Spokane, Washington and for a seminary activity we each wrote a missionary from our stake...Since I didn't know any of the listed missionaries I randomly picked a name and it was yours. You probably don't remember that though. My name is Amanda Ramos. I'm Julie's sister-in-law (she married my brother, Aaron). But enough of that...so how are you liking Finland?? What is is like there?? Do you find it easy or difficult to teach the gospel? I have never been to, or had any friends who have been to Finland. How long did it take you to get used to the language?? I've been trying to learn spanish my whole life and I'm not even close to being fluent! Haha. Well, I don't want to waste too much of your time. I hope you have an excellent rest of the mission and hope to meet you when you return. Have a go0d rest of the day!

Amanda

Nothing too exciting - just the beginning of Ryan and me :-)

Unfortunately I do not have copies of any of Ryan's responses :-( I stopped using the e-mail address for a few years so it froze my account and deleted EVERYTHING :-(

Anyway - Ryan wrote back. We e-mailed each other back and forth until he returned to Spokane from his mission in Finland. I was excited and nervous to meet him. I'm pretty sure he didn't think much of it...I think I remember him saying that I sounded like your average teenage girl (.....which, I don't think was an accurate description of who I really was, haha).

Anyway, so I'm not entirely sure, but I think we met on January 4th (I think I remember mutual being on the same night that I met him...and I'm pretty sure I met him at the very beginning of January). Pretty much, I ignored him the entire time we were hanging out. Why? I have no idea!! I'm pretty sure I didn't leave any kind of impression on him...other than I'm a weirdo for emailing him for the last 2 months of his mission and then totally ignoring him when we finally meet. Yah...I'm lame.

So....sometime after we met and I made myself look like an idiot in front of Ryan - I emailed him and made something up like "I didn't realize that it was you..." ...something like that. It was my lame attempt at getting a 2nd chance. We emailed back and forth a few times and then on January 26, 2006 he asked me out on our first date!

We had our first date on January 27, 2006. It was a double date with Julie and Aaron. What I knew at the time was that Julie was really the person who set this up... she had actually been updating me on her plans for when it would happen and what would happen. What I didn't know at the time was that Ryan REALLY REALLY REALLY did NOT want to go on a date with me...but Julie made him :-/ Good thing though, because we actually had a good time!

Journal Entry from January 27, 2006

Today was my date with Ryan :-) I had soooo much fun! I can honestly say that it was the best date I've ever been on! I was very comfortable with him. Every other date I've been on I've felt really uncomfortable being there - but not this time. I hope he has as much fun as I did. I really hope we can do something together again.

(details about date - funny conversations - pizza at Rocky Rococo's - Games at Aaron and Julie's - Watched Red Eye and Aaron and Julie's - Ryan kept dropping popcorn out of his mouth :-b - also he put his arm around me during the movie)

After all of that fun stuff we went to a YSA Dance...talk about awkward! I was still a senior in high school...definitely not where I was supposed to be, haha. We danced a few times - had fun. He took me home - we talked about hanging out again and then he gave me a hug.

So that was our first date - I'm so glad I didn't screw it up :-b

I remember being impatient with how long it was taking Ryan to call/mail me - so I sent him an email asking about a bookstore he had mentioned on our date. My plan worked - he called me to tell me where the bookstore was and then he asked me out on a second date (which took place on February 4th 2006)....This is when we first held hands :-) This is also when he found out that I was NOT 18....I don't know why he thought I was 18....but apparently if he knew that before, he would have never asked me out. So...guess it is a good thing he didn't know I was 17 until he liked me :-)

Ryan and I went on a lot of dates, and while we were dating, Julie did her very best to keep us running in to each other. She used to clean Dr. Crump's office so she would ask me to help - then ask him to help if I was going to be there, and when she knew when he was coming - she would have me clean the front doors so that I would be there to let him in when he got there. She's so silly...and smart!

We used to run into each other on Wednesday nights. It turns out that Ryan would go early to play basketball in hopes that he would see me when I was finished with YW's.....kinda stalkerish...and cute at the same time.

On February 9th, 2006 he kissed me for the first time...on the cheek. This was also the same night I was afraid he'd kiss me on the lips so I spent a lot of the night looking at my feet hoping he would NOT kiss me, haha.... which is funny because I was totally ok with being kissed on the lips the next day!...which is what happened!

February 12, 2006 is when we decided we were a couple.

February 18, 2006 is when Ryan first told me that he loved me.

February 24, 2006 is when I first told Ryan that I loved him.

April 11, 2006 is when we told our families we were going to get married.

April 18 is when Ryan officially proposed!

I remember it catching me totally by surprise! I was in such a bad mood because I had failed the written test to get my permit. He took me to our spot....which....is some gated neighborhood off of Glenrose. It is on the top of a hill and you can see Spokane and the Valley from there. So pretty at night! Anyway, we went to our spot - he played "Better Together" by Jack Johnson and we danced. After we danced he said the view was so beautiful that night he just had to get a picture! He went to the car to "get his camera" - came back and stood by me. I thought he was going to ask me to move forward so he could get a good picture, but instead he opened a ring box and asked me to marry him! YaY! Obviously I said yes.

August 4, 2006 we got married in the Spokane Temple! Sometimes I tell people we got married on the 5th...but that is just because I'm crazy...and because we originally planned on getting married on the 5th but changed our minds.....

I don't know why I felt the need to write all of this out - but I'm glad I did. I love Ryan so much! I love our little family that we have created, and I can't wait to see what the future will bring!

lds.org

2011-12-01T18:19:00.000-08:00

So, I have been doing a lot of research on lds.org lately (don't tell my bishopric that, though...I don't wanna be giving any talks any time soon), and I have learned SO MUCH! I'm not going to lie, I don't always read the Ensign from front to back...I don't always pay attention to every general conference or other broadcasts... I have a hard time paying attention to a full sacrament meeting (...I blame the kids on all of this)!! Well, I decided that I have been missing out! I have read so many articles that I wish I could have read ages ago. I have been given hope for a brighter future. It is going to take a bit of patience on my end...and some hard work, but I can handle that!

Keep me in your prayers, everyone - I am hopeful for a brighter future, but I could also use some help if you don't mind :-)

Don't Want

2011-11-28T12:08:00.000-08:00

My thoughts for the day - I really don't want to go to work :-(

I also don't want Ryan's vacation to end!

....That's all

I'm Wearing A Sign

2011-11-22T13:51:00.000-08:00

*sigh* - I can't say much, but all I can say is that I'm going to be sad for a long time. So sad that it hurts my chest. So sad that I'll probably be on the verge of tears for a long time. So sad that I'll probably be crying whenever I'm alone.

This is me putting up a sign and the sign says, "Be gentle with me, my heart is broken."

I know you guys have no idea what I am talking about...I just thought I should say it would help if when I don't have a happy face on you don't ask me what is wrong - thinking and talking about it doesn't help - just keep the conversation happy and positive.

Awkward!!

2011-10-19T20:14:00.000-07:00

So here is the deal - I work at a music school...not just any music school, though - I work at MY BROTHER'S music school. Pretty much, I'm going to do the best I can with my job and make sure everyone else is, too. There was an issue with one other teacher. We've butted heads a few times (in one day) about policies, she's broken the dress policy, and she missed a lesson without telling us beforehand. Everything that goes on at the school goes onto a Word document and gets e-mailed to my sister-in-law (she pretty much runs the business)...not because I feel like it...because that is what I was told to do.

Pretty much, I got this girl fired....then, she spoke with my sister-in-law and got herself unfired... that's cool with me. I'm just a little nervous about tomorrow when this girl who I got fired comes in to work. I'm thinking its going to be awkward. I'm afraid she thinks that I singled her out or something and tried to get her fired...but I didn't do that...I just reported things to my boss like I was supposed to.

Do I feel bad? .......No....not really. I believe in rules. I'm not the one who broke them and I'm not the one who wasn't doing what I was supposed to be doing. I just am afraid she's going to hate me from now on....I guess that is what I get for being the office tattletale.

I Know Nothing

2011-10-19T13:10:00.000-07:00

So I recently realized that my entire wardrobe consisted of solid colored tee shirts, a black wonder tee, a white wonder tee, and jeans. This annoyed me a little. So, I went to the last Value Village half off sale and tried to buy things that were cute and NOT solid colored tees. I came out with some striped things, some button up things, some cute sweater....and then the other day I realized that I don't know anything about fashion! What the heck am I supposed to wear with a green and white striped tank top, or a grey v-neck sweater? I have no idea! I'm used to matching a solid colored tee with a white or black wonder tee with a pair of jeans.

No worries, I found a solution! Leslie Beecher recently introduced me to Pinterest.com, and what I do is I go to Ronae Norris's "What To Wear" board or Megan Lindblad's "beauty & fashion" board and look for a something I can work with, haha. Apparently I suck at being a girl. Thanks to everyone else for having a sense of style - so that I can mimic the things you say are stylish :-)

Green and white stripes were my problem - this pic from Megan's board helped a little :-)

Weight Loss Comopetition

2011-10-16T22:38:00.000-07:00

So - I totally did NOT win! But I lost %.046 of my weight. I started out at 152 lbs and a month later ended up at 144.8 lbs :-) I'm so excited! ......even tho ugh I lost. I can't believe Andy lost 12 lbs!!! How did he lose 12 lbs? He's......skinny and muscly....I don't understand! Grrr....... now I need to gain muscle so I can kick his butt!

This isn't a current picture - it's from last Christmas.....its the picture that makes me wonder where Andy lost 12 lbs, lol.

Well done Andy - next competition though....you are SO going down!!!

Family Pictures

2011-10-12T12:14:00.000-07:00

So, we took family pictures a few months back and let me tell you - I did not enjoy it one bit!! Haha, Cael was going crazy the entire time and it wasn't helping that I wasn't allowed any time in between pictures to calm him down. Oh well - luckily we had Misty as our photographer! She did such an amazing job, you couldn't even tell he was throwing a fit in SOME of the pictures. I know some of you have already seen these pictures but here are a few of my favorites:

New Job

2011-10-03T23:34:00.000-07:00

Ok - so its not so new anymore - but it WAS new in August :-) I need to blog more often! So I am now working at Family School of Music. For those of you who don't know, my brother and sister-in-law (Spencer and Michal) own a music school on the South Hill here. Well, I'm the secretary! I know it isn't anything cool like an instructor or anything, haha - but I actually love being a secretary soo....it works for me! I totally love it! I do the scheduling, the registering...I take payments, I answer phone calls and e-mails...I send the invoices, I clean, I update the website... I do pretty much what I'm told to do - and I think I'll be taking pictures soon to post on the website and facebook page. Anyway - I'm happy.

So....if you ever feel the urge to take music lessons come see ME at Family School of Music - tell ME that I sent you and I'll get you a coupon for $10 off the first month, lol.

Vacation

2011-08-02T13:57:00.000-07:00

So - I know I've been for a few weeks already, but I've finally decided to write a bit about our family vacation! I'm not going to post a lot of pictures because I posted them all on facebook and its kind of a pain in the butt to post them one at a time on Blogger - also ,I tried doing a slide slow but for some reason I'm not allowed to copy or paste anything from or into this text box....?

Anyway! Ryan's family invited us to go to Seaside, OR with them a few weeks ago. It was A BLAST!!! It was a long drive (during which we passed through a crazy storm where there was actually a fire right on the side of the road where lightening hit) - be we made it!

This is where we stayed - Its shaped like a U. I didn't take this picture so I need to point out that this is deefinitely NOT what the resort looked like while we were there. Imagine the front section (the part of the building on the left of the pic and the part that seems closest to the camera) covered in sheets - because this front beach-facing section of the resort was under construction while we were there.

Anywho - the resort was pretty cool. It had to huge hot tubs, a heated pool with fountains, and a heated kids pool with fountains. This is where we went when it was too cold to go to the beach.

The beach was right there! Just a few steps from walking out the door of the resort and our feet were in the sand. It was nice! The kids loved playing in the sand and the adults loved swimming in the ocean.

While we were in Seaside we got to shop, we visited the aquarium almost every day to feed the seals, and we went to Astoria to check out the Column:

We climbed the steps all the way to the top of the column - and I felt sick the ENTIRE TIME. The top was fun though - it had a great view:

We also went to Ft. Clatsop - all about Lewis and Clark. I'll admit - Ryan was more interested than I was, haha - but it was still fun. Last I can think of was our trip to the Tillamook Cheese Factory - pretty interesting! Ryan retained my information than I did ..... but it was still interesting :-) The most important thing is that we got to sample cheese and buy ice cream, haha.

Many nights were spent watching movies, playing games, relaxing the hot tub, and waking up to people setting off loads of fireworks in the middle of the night. Most days were spent swimming in the pool, swimming in the ocean, or playing in the sand. After a week stay we were sad to say goodbye. Maybe one day when we can afford it we will go back again.

Cael-Bo-Bael

2011-07-13T09:57:00.000-07:00

So, Cael had his 1st birthday about a month ago! Lots of family showed up and I'm sure Cael had a blast!

He started at 7 lb 1 0z, and by age one he was about 17 lbs taking him off the charts percentile-wise (meaning he is really small for his age). The doctor had me put him on a high calorie foods only diet and after a month he's now at about 18 lbs! That may not sound like much -but it is exciting for us! We take him in to see the doctor in a week and a half and we'll see if that pound he gained was good enough to not be worried about our little guy!!

Cael has been developing so well!! He can say "Hi" "Daddy" or "Dada" and "Daeda" ... for Jaeda... he can also say "Mama" "Yaya"....for Diana.... and "Boo." He uses the signs for milk, food, please, all done, and book - and he created his own sign for pacifier. He sleeps really well, he's getting a lot of teeth and he is so loving! I love all of the hugs and kisses he gives me. I also love how much he likes to imitate Jaeda - my kids are so dang cute!

I just wanted to point out - the picture to the left of this paragraph has Cael wearing the same onesie he wore when we took our family pictures - the same family pictures that are shown on the top of my blog and as my profile picture. They were taken when Cael was 3 months! (in the family pictures he has a long sleeve onesie underneath this onesie) - I told you he was small!

It's On!

2011-06-23T20:24:00.000-07:00

So my mom, Diana, Michal, Cindy, GG, and I are having a weight loss competition. We started 2 Sundays ago and ....I think it ends September 1st. The winner gets 20 dollars from each participant to contribute to a new wardrobe- I am SO determined to win!!! I won't say everyone else's starting weight, just cuz I don't know how they'd feel about it - but I started at 158lbs and my goal is 135. I weighed myself this morning and I was 149. And as far as I know - I'm in second place (GG is winning - who would have thought?). So I'm excited - mostly because I've been making healthier decisions as far as food goes and I've been exercising more and it feels GREAT!! Who knew that the combination of more exercise and less pizza/McDonalds could lead to weight loss?? Oh wait...that would be EVERYBODY!!

That's it - I'll try to do a little blog about Cael's 1st birthday as soon as I upload the pictures from my camera.

Random Thought

2011-05-22T13:55:00.000-07:00

So, I was thinking about it today - and I decided that without faith and hope, I'd be a total mess! I was worrying about things like school and money and I really just wanted to freak out....instead I just took a breath and thought, "it's gonna be ok..." That little bit of hope and optimism was just what I needed to clear my mind and it helped me to focus on setting goals and figuring out what needs to happen in order to better our situation. I know trials pretty much suck, but its comforting to know that that Lord will help me through them and that when I come out of my trials I will be a better and wiser person.

.....and thats my blog for the month :-)

Oops and Uh-Oh!

2011-04-03T23:59:00.000-07:00

The oops - So, after I had Cael I had to buy some new clothes because I was a little bigger than normal...well, now those clothes are too small! I'll admit - I've been eating A LOT lately! So my new goal is to excercise daily and eat less junk - so easy, right? I started tonight because I didn't want this to be one of those "I'll do it tomorrow..." things. Also, Ryan and I made a goal to not let any junk food in our house for the next month (which ....is going to be really hard for us, haha). So, wish me luck! The Uh-Oh - So, it has sort of been coming on gradually, I think - but I'm convinced that I have been dealing with some sort of depression. I don't know if it is some kind of post-partum thing or if it is a side effect to a new drug, or if its just out of no where - but its starting to become more apart of my life than I'd like it to be. Its like one minute I'm "normal," optimistic, and happy - and the next minute I think I'm the biggest dissappointment in the world, everyone hates me (which totally isn't true...cuz I'm so awesome, right?), and nothing is possible. Maybe its weird that I'm bringing it up in a blog - but its not something I'm really worried about people knowing because I'm not embarassed or ashamed and I would like any advice, thoughts, ideas or whatever you think might help me get through this! Anyway - so thats my oops and uh-oh..... .... .... Go Giants!

Getting the Housewife Thing Down!

2011-03-29T17:13:00.000-07:00

So, ever since school got out (btw - I totally got a 4.0 in my chemistry class) - I made a goal to try to do more housewife things (since I don't have school taking up all of my time). So I've been cooking and cleaning as much as I can for the last week - and let me tell yuh, I'm AMAZING...ok not really. I clean the house and ten minutes later the toys are all over the place! The cool thing is that I have time to cook. Ryan has been doing pretty much ALL of the cooking up until now (...boy do I love that man)! The thing is - it was mostly hamburger helper or pizza....and I'm tired of dinner from a box. So, I've been making stuff from scratch and it has been a blast! I've now made shephards pie (yum!), honey fried chicken (not so yum), pot roast with a mushroom gravy (super yum!), and cheddar baked chicken. Coming up is beef stew one day and zesty pork chops the next. I don't know why I just started cooking - I'm having so much fun! Anyway - I just thought I'd share with you how much I'm enjoying my unexpected break from school. Oh....and Cael took his first steps a few weaks ago

Meant to Be...

2011-03-15T09:04:00.000-07:00

So the last month has been pretty crazy for me. It's the last month of the quarter so I've been trying to stay on top of things - but my family decided we should all get sick, my kids decided to keep me up til 2 am, and my body decided that it doesn't like sleep anymore anyway! So I'm sick, tired, exhausted (so sick, tired, and exhausted that I had no energy to celebrate my birthday) and after a few days of, "Wow - you look really tired!" or "Are you feeling ok - cuz you don't look so good..." I found out that I can't go to school next quarter because with trying to transfer to a different school and trying to turn in paperwork on time - I apparently missed a deadline for something and didn't qualify for financial aid :-( This has an unfortunate effect on my plans for being finished with prerequisites, but I won't go into that now, because I've decided that not being able to go to school next quarter is a major blessing! I haven't been able to be a good mom or wife because I've been so out of it! So that little break, I think, will be very healthy for me and my family and I am looking forward to it.

Good Times

2011-01-20T22:51:00.000-08:00

I was driving home from school today when I realized.... I was the only person in the car and I didn't have to worry about loud volumes for Jaeda and Cael. SO - I plugged my iPod into the car and turned up the volume!! Ooooh MAN did it feel good! I forgot how much I loved driving with my music blasting and singing as loud as I can. ........ Good times.

Company Party at a Lesbian Bar

2011-01-08T23:27:00.000-08:00

So, Ryan's workplace had a holiday party tonight. We went - I thought it would be fun to get out and socialize. Don't get me wrong - it was way fun...mostly because it's fun watching people after they've had a few drinks.

The party took place at nyne bistro & bar. Apparently it's a "women's sports bar"... aka, a lesbian bar. Now, I don't know whose idea it was to have a company party at a women's sports bar, but....oh well.

We all got 2 free drinks. Ryan and I had 2 orange cream soda, root beer, and sierra mist altogether. A few of Ryan's coworkers were like "Ryan! You're drinking?!?! GOOD FOR YOU!" Then we pointed out that it was just root beer. Silly people - they have it so wrong.

Ryan and I were hanging out, leaning against a wall - when this group of lesbians passed us by and this girl was totally checking me out (I didn't think so at first, but Ryan noticed, too and thought it was hilarious)....awkward! At least for me anyway...

Also, while Ryan and I were chatting - people kept walking by, and as they walked by they kept accidentally touching my butt - so annoying. Unfortunately all the seats were talking, so we had to stand.

One of the funniest moments was when this guy was going around introducing himself as the CEO of the company. He came up to Ryan and Ryan was like, "what?" ... the guy introduced himself again and Ryan was like, "oooh....Ryan Birch...nice to meet you." Then the guy goes on about Ryan and football - and wishing Ryan luck is in football career...or something. ... Then the guy left and Ryan says, "That was my managers husband pretending to be the CEO" ....wow - what alcohol does to people - after the guy walked away he behind another guy and shoved his hand into a guys armpit from behind.....WEIRD!

It was also a lot of fun watching this girl from Ryan's work flirting with and following another coworker...even though she had her husband their with her. And the guy trying to run away from her the whole time... it's like... take a hint, he not interested...oh yah, and YOU'RE MARRIED!

I'm so glad I don't drink - get drunk - and make a fool of myself, haha.

FYI - the only reason we stayed as long as we did at the party - was cuz we were hoping to win the grand prize (they had a raffle every half hour) - we didn't win. Bummer.

Note to self : Never go to a lesbian bar ever again (seeing women makeout all over the place is just not my cup of tee).

Sorry this is can't randomly put together - I'm tired, and going to bed now :-)

My Kids are the Best!

2011-01-03T21:03:00.000-08:00

Jaeda:

I wake up to her snuggling with me every morning (she usually wakes up before me, so she comes into my room, climbs onto my bed and holds me). She recently started jumping at me - throwing her arms around my neck with a big smile saying, "I wuv you!!" She busts out with the most awesome dance moves at the most random times. She has a scary voice that she uses to sing sometimes. She speaks a little spanish out of the blue (thanks Dora). She says please, thank you, excuse me, and bless you at appropriate times.... she is just AWESOME...and she makes me so happy.

Cael:

Everytime I say hi to him he replies with a big smile and sometimes a loud gasp (his laugh). It is so exciting to watch as he develops new skills. Last week he went from all fours to sitting position all by himself for the first time.....shortly after he started army crawling...and yesterday he crawled!! He goes down for naps easily, which I am so grateful for, and he cries when I leave the room (which could be a bad thing someday - but I take it as "I love and miss my mommy"). I can't wait to see what new stuff he picks up next!

While being a young mommy has been quite stressful at times, I wouldn't trade it for anything! Jaeda and Cael make me so happy - I don't know what I would do without them!

The Holidays in a Nutshell (a really big nutshell)

2011-01-03T10:04:00.000-08:00

This year's Christmas celebrations were both exciting and exhausting for us. There was a lot of travelling back and forth, and there was a lot of fussiness going on between our two children who did not make their bedtimes AT ALL during the holidays. Anywho -

As it turns out, both Ryan's family and my family have their big Christmas celebration on Christmas Eve. So far, we have just tried doing both parties in one night, but I'm thinking that next year we are going to start alternating.

Ryan's family get's together at Grandma and Grandpa Birch's house where we all enjoy a tasty ham dinner with homemade honey mustard sauce (my favorite!!), caesar salad, rolls, and whatever other tasty treats others decide to bring (we made Magic Jell-O Parfait). My favorite part of the night was watching Jaeda tackle Jacob - and if Jacob stood up, Jaeda was yell, "No! Lie down!!" ....Then she would tackle him again.

Towards the end of the night, we opened presents and got some pretty sweet stuff. I have a terrible memory, so it's very possible that I left something out:

Laura made is a way sweet alphabet book - Jaeda loves it! Grandma and Grandpa got us a book by Neil A. Maxwell that I am looking forward to reading. They also got us a set of DVD resources referring to the Doctine and Covenants and church history - I'm very excited to look into it. Julie and Aaron made us a delicious plate of goodies - not pictured.....because we ate them (hmm....it's not letting me upload the picture....).

After presents, we left to make it to my family's house. We got there just in time for Christmas carols. Now, usually the tradition is to stay up til midnight, then open presents. Unfortunately, there are too many grandkids with bed times and too few rooms at Grandma and Grandpa's house. My parents were kind enough to push the time to ..... 8:30 or 9 so we could all get home sooner.

April and Andy got us a cute little fondue kit. I am so looking forward to using it! They also got Jaeda a princess puzzle and got us 2 tickets to a hockey game plus babysitting. I wanna say they got something for Cael too....but I just can't remember (I'm bad....I know). Diana got me a pair of socks and got Jaeda a Minnie Mouse doll, Minnie Mouse bini, and a matching Minnie and Mickey toy with their own cars. Cael got some toy blocks and balls from both great grandmas. Both the kids got some fun books....aaaaand.... someone (I think mom and dad) got Jaeda a Dora and Boots bath toy. Mom and Dad also got us a gift card for HuHot (for which I am super excited for). Many lollipops were given and I don't remember who they were from, haha.

After presents, we had the almond/rice pudding!!! We had rice pudding with strawberry (usually raspberry...but this year was different) topping. The tradition is to stick one peeled almond into the rice pudding, and whoever finds the almond in their pudding gets a prize and one year of good luck! I SOOOO wanted it this year, but Chase found it. He won a cool fondue kit (so it's good I didn't win....cuz I already got one of those for christmas!). After rice pudding, everyone busted out the desserts they brought - of course, we were all too full after eating rice pudding, so the desserts pretty much went untouched, haha. ....We went home.

We woke up the next day and were too excited to wait for Jaeda to wake up - so we woke her up. She was really tired - as soon as it lets me post pictures again, I'll get the pictures up. We opened presents and Jaeda had a blast! We got her a puzzle that she plays with daily, slippers that she hates, a few dresses, some pajama sets, some white board markers, and an easel!!! She opened it and thought it was a TV, haha. But we showed her how it worked and she loves it! I love watching her draw. We got Cael some toys to chew on - I don't even know what t hey're called, haha. Ryan got me a sexy pair of black boots, some bath towels, and Avater in blu ray with the extended version and lots of special features. I got Ryan pajama pants, a Zags sweatshirt and an old Navy sweater - I also got him The Dark Knight in blu ray and a PS3 game.... Dragonage Origins or something like that.

We then made breakfast - French toast, sausage, and eggs with orange juice.

We watched a movie, then headed over to my families to say marry christmas - then went to the Birch's and opened presents there. Jaeda got a cool microphone toy that broke before she finished opening it....then it broke again after she opened it by dropping it and stepping on it!! She still uses it daily, though - so it was an awesome gift! She also got a cool sleeping bag. She was zipped up in it and then exclaimed "I'm stuck!" She loved it. She also got a rubiks cube from uncle Nathan. Cael got a toy train (that Jaeda likes to take over ...because she loves trains).... and we got a lamp to take camping with us. Matt and Rachel got us another book by Neil A. Maxwell that I'm looking forward to reading...along with a gift card to ...... I forget what its called.... the shooting range by SCC... which is way cool because we found out that on Friday's rentals are free and if we share a lane we only have to pay for one of us. We're excited about it. We had treats and played Who What Where (a super fun game).

This is so long ..... I'm just trying to finish it up

On New Year's Eve we went to Birch's house where we played games (mostly just Redneck Game of Life....or whatever it's called). At midnight we drank (sparkling cider) and kissed (tee hee.... I should specify that we just kissed our significant others, haha) then packed up the kids and left!

OKAY!! Sorry this is to much to read - I hope everyone had happy holidays and I wish you all a happy new year!

Shopping - Oy!

2010-12-23T00:31:00.000-08:00

So, I had my christmas shopping done about a month ago... but I went to the store with my sisters just to "hang out" and ended up spending way too much money :-( It went a lot like.. "Oh Ryan will love that..... oh that is a great stocking stuffer...OOOH - nailpolish, Jaeda is gonna go crazy!" Yah - so, I'm grounding myself from shopping until the holidays are over. I did find one cute dress for Jaeda - we didn't have anything white or black or cream colored or purple she could wear for Matt and Rachel's wedding, and after a few hours of looking I FINALLY found a dress that wasn't pink or christmas-y!! I'm so excited, I can't remember the last time I bought Jaeda a pretty dress... ... and after picking out the dress, I (of course) HAD to buy a matching bow. I almost bought shoes, but Ryan texted me telling me not to (smart man). I don't usually like shopping so much - I think my sisters just have a bad influence on me :-b

More random news - Ryan took the kids for 4-ish hours, and I got so much cleaning done! Our hallway was filled with hand-me-down boy clothes from my sister-in-law who dropped them off and I had no where to put them. Yesterday, I rearranged the kids room and made everything fit! Also, I put together all of the stuff my kids don't use anymore and it is all waiting to go to good will. I also scrubbed our dining table chairs (because Jaeda had coated each one with jelly, peanut butter, etc...)! My next task is to arrange to borrow a truck so we can haul our old couch (which has been sitting outside on our balcony for the last 2 months) to the dump, and return my grandma's recliner. I can't wait til the apartment is all back in order - even if it only lasts until Jaeda wakes up the next morning :-)

Oh, and good news - I found my camera!!!! So here are the most recent pictures of my kids :-) (I have to post these pictures, just in case our hard drive decides to lose all of our pictures again - now the only past pictures I have of Jaeda are ones I've posted on previous blogs or on facebook)

I just LOVE my little family :-)

What the heck?

2010-12-18T10:39:00.000-08:00

I feel pretty safe saying this on here - because I'm pretty sure Ryan doesn't know where my blog is (not that I haven't told him about it - blogging just isn't his thing). Ryan's birthday is this coming Monday and I bought him an 11x17 inch picture of the Helsinki, Finland Temple. Little did I know that it is IMPOSSIBLE to find a nice 11x17 inch frame! I found one that is a cheap black metal poster frame with no glass. I can't bring myself to buy it because it is super ugly and doesn't go with the picture. The only thing I can think of to do is to go to the Great Frame Up and buy a custom made from - I've never been there before, but it can't be cheap, right? Now I sort of wish I looked into this a little more beforehand - and purchased a picture that's frame could be purchased at Fred Meyer!! Also, I should have taken care of this more than just a few days from his birthday, haha- OH WELL

Can You Believe It?

2010-12-13T23:37:00.001-08:00

Wow! I am actually blogging within a year of my last blog :-b

I can't sleep, and it is at times like this where I can come up with the most random things to talk about!

Grandma:

My Grandma Maria has come to visit! I love i when she visits - I just think she is so exciting and interesting! Just the first day she got here she was telling us about all the things she remembered about Pearl Harbor. I had no idea that she lived in Hawaii when it happened (and near Pearl Harbor is what she said). I wanna say she was about 9 years old - she was just playing with the other kids in the neighborhood before church when, all of a sudden, they saw these puffs of clouds in the sky. Next thing she new, these vans/trucks came and these guys started grabbing all of the kids and shoving them into these vehicles. She said they took them to the schools they went to. After a few days, one of the kids realized that their parents weren't with them - then all of them started freaking out because they thought they were in prison or something! Finally, after 3 days - her family picked her up. She said that they made everyone carry gas masks around, and the kids had to get their food rations because the parents were too busy working. What an experience! I can't imagine living there at that time. I just love the stories she has to tell us about her past!

Sacrament Meeting:

Jaeda and I went to church without dad and Cael this last Sunday. I don't think I ever want to do it again! It is clear to me now that Jaeda has entered the terrible two's stage of life. She was throwing hymn books, trying to run away, slapping me in the face, yelling "OW MOMMY!" repeatedly - even though I wasn't touching her, and yelling out "NO, I'm NOT being naughty!" My ward probably thinks I beat her now - so embarassing! It probably doesn't help that she didn't get her nap before church - 9am meetings will be way better come January.

Cael:

He isn't crawling just yet, but he's scooting backwards. Today, he got stuck underneath the TV stand, underneath his vibrating chair, in-between the vibrating chair and the exersaucer, and underneath the Christmas tree! He was able to roll around all over the place before, but now - it's just more exciting! I love looking at him and saying "Are you stuck?" Then he gives this HUGE cheeky smile - ah, being a mother is so awesome (even if you have the occasional evil 2 year old). I would take pictures, but I left our camera at the in-laws house on Thanksgiving :-(

Girls Night:

I need a girls night - the only problem is, Ryan would never take the kids somewhere to leave me the apartment to host a girls night, I am too shy to invite all the people I'd want to and would probably just end up inviting Diana (haha), and I can never think of anything to do if I invited someone over - feel free to leave suggestions :-) I get breaks every few weeks - but I mostly just end up walking around the mall, target, or walmart window shopping. It gets old....

My kids...

2010-12-07T11:38:00.000-08:00

So, yah - I think it's obvious how bad I am at sticking with a blog. Oh well!

Quick Update:

I have a new kid - Cael Alexander Birch, born June 17th.

Don't let the picture fool you - he doesn't have that much hair ... anymore, haha.

Jaeda has come a long way. I can't believe how well she talks, how many songs she can sing, how active she is, and so on and so forth. She is AMAZING! Yesterday, she recited the first article of faith without any help from me or Ryan....and she's 2!! I must be doing something right with that kid....

School has been pretty stressful this quarter. Well, Biology has been stressful, anyway. I can't complain too much about online PE and intercultural communications. Biology, on the other hand, has been my number one worry! I think I'm going to end up with a C, when I'm competing against those with a 3.8 gpa. Oy!! Hopefully I will do better next quarter with Chemistry.

There is definitely more that has gone on in my family, but these are the basics, haha. I wonder when my next blog will be.....

I have a blog?

2010-06-02T13:02:00.000-07:00

So, Aunt Larene totally reminded me last night that I have a blog....OOPS!

The update:

I'm pregnant and due ANY DAY NOW. We're going to name him Cael Alexander Birch...unless... the ultrasound was extremely fuzzy and we end up having a girl!

I quit my job at Albertson's! So now I'm a stay at home mommy who goes to school full-time.

Jaeda has grown up so much! Her favorite movie's are Hairspray, The Lion King, Cars, and Over the Hedge. Mostly she likes Hairspray - she loves trying to imitate the dance movies (I love that part, too). We also started potty training her, and it's actually going really well. Not perfect, but I wasn't expecting perfection from an 18-month old.

Ryan is pretty much the same. He did get a new bike and his been riding it a lot. Consequently, he is getting into pretty good shape.

Hmm....yah, that's everything in a nut shell - not let's see if I can get another post within the next year!

I Forgot...

2010-01-25T09:25:00.000-08:00

I totally forgot (until now) that I have a blog! I better update this sucker... So lifes been pretty crazy. I started school last quarter, found out I was pregnant, finished that quarter (with a 3.8 gpa thank you very much), started a new quarter (Intro to Logic and English 96&99), and found out I'm having a BOY!!!! How crazy exciting is that?

So.... we thought about names and .... if you think about it, there's only one good boy name out there. Rocco Vesuvias Birch............... cough cough cough. OK, maybe not. We really have no idea what we're naming him yet....

I got my hours cut at work - so I'm down to 5 hours a week. I can say that it sucks and I hate my job, but I actually love that I'm hardly working any hours....so..... no complaints there.

Jaeda is 16 months now. She's talking, walking, running, playing hide and seek, trying to eat with a fork, and DANCING. I need to get a video of her dancing. It's HILARIOUS. I'm not kidding when I say - she responds to, "Jaeda, shake your booty!"

Ryan is pretty much the same......... kinda boring to talk about, LoL - just kidding. In the last 3 weeks he's lost about 10 pounds, so thats pretty cool.

Hmm....yah, all this times gone by and I really don't have much to say, haha - the 'me having a boy' thing is the most exciting thing about life so far so.....yah. Wish I had more to say - talk to you all later!

Busy Busy!

2009-10-09T08:39:00.000-07:00

So life has been really CRAZY for me lately. For a bit I was working full time. Now I'm going to school full time, and working every day I'm not at school. When I'm not at school or work, I'm taking care of Jaeda - and when she's asleep or Ryan is home to take care of her I am studying or doing homework... and when I'm not doing ANY of these - I'm sleeping for a few hours :-)

Today I actually found time to come and play on the internet, LoL.

So yes, I finally started college! I am currently taking:

Beginners Volleyball
First Aid
World Music
Math 99

Yah - I took the placement test and BLEW IT. I have to take Math 99 and English 99 before I can go up from there - I guess thats what happens when you wait 3 years after you graduate to start college.

So school has been great! I'm loving every minute of it. I took my first EXAM this last Tuesday and got a 98% WHOO!! Makes me feel dumb for not paying attention in High School, haha.

Anywho - Jaeda is 13 months now. She's walking, talking, signing, dancing, singing... Well - Talking, she says - dada, mama, day-da (jaeda), buh (book), bree (tree), NO, yah, bye bye, baw (ball), and Yah-yah (Diana). She signs - please, food, pacifier, all done, no, and yes. She's... pretty much amazing!

Alrighty, well - I gotta head out to work. Maybe I'll get a chance to update this in the near future.

We Moved!

2009-06-05T11:52:00.000-07:00

Yay - we finally moved out of our old apartment. I absolutely love our new apartment! There is so much space, it's not even funny! And guess what - that's right, we have a garbage disposal!!! Only problem is, we're surrounded by senior citizens.... for example, Jim upstairs doesn't like the volume of our movies or music - unfortunately for us and him our volume has been so low that we've been using subtitles because we can't hear the dialogue in our movies. We just decided - we're in an apartment complex - if he wants complete silence he can move into a house! Anywho...

Congrats to Lauren getting engaged!!! I'm so happy for yuh, and it's about time!! I kept wondering when he was gonna propose.

Oh yah! More good news - tomorrow is my last day working in Spokane Valley!! Let's just say - I wont miss the drama..... Now I'll be working at a deli here in Spokane until Spencer opens up his music business.

Jaeda is 9 months old today! She has 2 teeth and 1 on the way - and darn her she took her first steps when I wasn't even there! She was being babysat while I was moving!! grr.... she also makes the "mamamamama" sound - on purpose? Probably not...but at least she's capable of saying it on purpose now. I got a lil tired of her saying " dada " all of the time, haha... jk.

Time to Relocate!

2009-04-29T13:25:00.000-07:00

So I was thinking, and I'm pretty sure our apartment hasn't been cleaned/organized since before we had Jaeda. Ever since we had her - and have purchased necessary baby items, there isn't any room....for ANYTHING! Our apartment is SO small - Jaeda's stuff is taking up the space of her entire bedroom (Except for the pathway to her crib, dresser, and rocking chair) plus 2 corners of the living room (and it's a small living room). We got rid of our piano cuz neither of us was playing it and we needed the space. The closets are jam packed with mostly mine and Jaeda's clothes. The sorage closet is filled with Ryan's pre mission stuff, my sewing stuff, christmas decorations, and tools. The bathroom has a toddler tub hogging the floor and the bathroom "counter" is covered with my face wash, make up, beauty supplies, ryans shaving stuff - etc.... Every single shelf we own is filled with books, cds, mini disks, etc..... It seems like the only empty space we have is in the fridge :-( Anywho - it's driving us NUTS so we're looking for a new apartment. I'm pretty sure we're either gonna end up at our old complex (cedar chateau) or a complex on the South Hill. Wish us luck! We need to be outta this place ASAP before one of us goes crazy............ scratch that, before I go crazy, Haha.

Another Fun Week

2009-04-13T21:44:00.000-07:00

So remember that week that I was totally sick with some stomach virus? See - I thought that was a pretty rough week.... but I was so very wrong. This last week .... starting Tuesday, I was breaking out with hives with a little swelling in my ears. Wednesday it was hives, rashes, and swelling in the ears, eyes, knees, and feet. Wednesday and Thursday night I couldn't take care of myself or Jaeda, so I stayed at my families while they took care of Jaeda and I tried not to move a muscle cuz everything ached, itched, and burned! Friday the rashes and hives went down, but my feet were very very VERY swollen - I could barely walk. Saturday it was mostly rash and swollen feet. Sunday it was rashes, and today it seems like most of the rashes are gone, but now my left shoulder and my right knee joints are in SO much pain - I can't really use them. Every time someone asked me to hand them something, I'd try to reach with my right arm and I'd cry out in pain - I'm pretty sure everyone thought I was being over dramatic, but it REALLY HURTS! Anywho - I'm glad to say no picture were taken of me during my red-raised rash-swelling days, but I did take one picture of my eye with my cell phone. You can see I have a rash on my entire eyelikd and a lil hive above the corner of my outer eye. This was a day before my eyes got really bad.

So, speaking with - it was an allergic reaction - we're not sure what to, but we think it's either our new dryer sheets (I had to re wash all of my clothes) or that little bite of an egg roll I had on Monday night. ....... stupid egg rolls.

Because of this crazy week of not being able to do ANYTHING AT ALL - I didn't get a chance to tell everyone that Jaeda can totally crawl now! And she also likes to make out with herself in the mirror -
Oh, and I also made Jaeda's easter dress - but I didn't get any picture on my camera - Diana has them all on her camera - as soon as I get them, they'll definitely be posted.

Super Slider Tournament

2009-04-06T23:40:00.000-07:00

The things people come up with during there free time! Right? I was hanging out with my family on Sunday and we decided to go to the park. I don't know what it's called - but we called it a "super slider." So you know what I'm talking about - here is a video of Shadrach using it-

So we had played a game that Cindy said was played at a family reunion on Aaron Jensen's side. The rules are this: You must go back and forth as many times as you can without touching the ground and without touching the poles. Once you let go, you're done! It was pretty HILARIOUS! I got a video of everyone doing it, so I'll post them from Loser to Winner:

Mom - Score: 1

Spencer & Cindy - Score: 2

Diana - Score: 2.5

Yvonne - Score: 3.5

Me & Sam - Score: 4

Michal - Score: 6

Chase with the winning score of 7 ...... and then his not so very impressive run...

And there you have it. Don't you wish you could spend more time with that Ramos family? FYI - for those of you coming to Spokane this Summer - start training, cuz we're totally doing the Super Slider competition again, haha.

Like, 2 Weeks Ago!

2009-03-27T09:52:00.000-07:00

So I showed Ryan my blog. He read through it and said something along the lines of, "if only you started the blog a few days sooner so you could tell everyone what happened on your birthday."
He seemed bummed that it wasn't made known to the e-world, so I'll fill you all in, haha.

So it started off with me sleeping in. Ryan turned the baby monitor off and took care of Jaeda that morning so that I could sleep in - so nice of him! We then went to a bike store past the Y and bought Ryan a brand new bike. I know what you're thinking - why in the world would we do that on MY birthday?? Well, now that Ryan has a bike, I have the car! YaY! Except for today... cuz Ryan took the car to work.........................................................

ANYWHO

After that Ryan pretty much became my chauffeur. He took me everyone I wanted to go ... like Sonics, Big 5, Joe's, the mall, Outback Steakhouse. I had a lot of fun. In the end I ended up with some new shirts, a new set of adjustable dumbells, new running shoes, an exercise ball, new work shoes, and an exercising mat. I was really excited! I've been waiting to buy this stuff for a while now so I could start my new workout program. Oh and I left out the best part of the day... Mom babysat Jaeda ALL DAY!! That's right. I was baby-free ALL DAY!

......I can't think of anything else to say.

"Fun" Week

2009-03-22T23:09:00.000-07:00

So I had a fun weekend.... cough cough.... It all started Friday night at work - I started feeling really sick around 8pm - as time went by I was having more of a hard time standing and getting around without feeling like I was gonna throw up - then I started throwing up around 9:30 and had to leave work (I'll probably get in trouble for not finishing up everything, but I was spending all my time either sitting on the floor waiting for the dizziness to fade or standing over a trash can). It took me a couple minutes to get to the car - apparently my body can't handle standing/walking for short periods of time while I'm sick - so I took a couple of sitting/vomiting breaks in the parking lot (which is ... kinda funny cuz I was parked the closest to the front doors of Albertson's), made it home to my equally sick husband where we spend all night taking turns rolling out of bed to make it to our bedside bowls.

We went to the clinic the next day where we were swabbed for the flu, and let me tell you - you do NOT wanna be swabbed for ANYTHING! Haha - I thought they were gonna just rub the q-tip around the inside of my nostril, but nope - they shoved that thing in there, and it hurt! Anywho - they said I was really dehydrated and hooked my up to an IV - gave both Ryan and I some anti-nausea pills, told me I can't go to work for a few days, then sent us on our way. It's been a great couple of days!................................. ok..... maybe not so great.

Anywho - Jaeda cut her first tooth and is getting even closer to crawling! She keeps backing herself underneath the entertainment center and getting stuck.

She's so cute - every time Ryan walks in the door she has a huge smile for him, and gets pretty upset if he doesn't pick her up right away. I love my little girl! Her hair is long enough that it doesn't stick straight up anymore (unless we haven't washed it for a week... then it sticks up)- it's cute, but sad all at the same time. I miss her natural spiky haired-ness.

Body-for-LIFE

2009-03-20T00:03:00.000-07:00

So on Monday I started this new workout/diet program called "Body-for-LIFE." It's only been a few days and I am in SO MUCH PAIN!! I'm not starving - I actually feel like I'm eating too much....oh well. The workout part is crazy. Every other day I do an "aerobic exercise" aka - running, and in between those running days I switch off doing either an upper body work out or lower body workout. Day 1 came and I was gonna run...that's when I realized....Ryan's at work, and I have a baby! Well...I already knew I had a baby..... and that Ryan was at work... but I couldn't go running cuz I don't have a jogging stroller and I can't just leave Jaeda at home. So what do I do? I run in place! Genius, right?? ..... WRONG!! 5 minutes after I was finished runnnig in place, I was in SO MUCH PAIN!! (that's funny.... I said "SO MUCH PAIN" in capitals twice unintentionally...well 3 times now) The next day I wanted to cry with every step. Well I'm still sore but its not just my legs anymore - now its my shoulders! I was lifting weights and now I want to cry every time I walk AND every time I turn the steering wheel in the car, haha. Oh it gets a little better... I brought up my pain to Ryan and he said, "Sounds like like you're not stretching enough." ..........I'm such a dummy!!!! How gig I forget to stretch for the last 5 days??? Ay yi yi......

Anywho....

Jaeda is gonna start crawling any day now!! Well, at least I think she is.... she might not though, cuz she's figured out how to army crawl. It's pretty hilarious. She sees something across the room and she just pulls her little body with her little arms across the floor. i need to get a video of it.

Also, she's been teething! It's exciting but sad all at the same time - every time she smiles or laughs, there's a little bit of crying in there too - it's like, even though she's happy...she's hurting so much that she has to throw in a cry in the middle of her laughter. It should be getting better though - she tooth cut through and I'm pretty sure that's the most painful part.

The Moment You've All Been Waiting For

2009-03-16T12:44:00.000-07:00

I finally did it - after days and days of being told that I need to get a blog, I did it! Lauren's most recent suggestion was the final push I needed. I know what you're thinking..."What took you so long? I've been dying to know what's been going on in your oh so very important and envious life!" All I have to say is - I'm sorry I've been disappointing you for so long, but now - I'm here to tell ALL *dramatic music plays*