Ritchie Christmas {2015}

The first of our 2015 Christmas celebrations was the perfect balance of familiar traditions - take-out pizza, wine, Lithuanian torte, good conversation - and the unexpected moments that come courtesy of small children. With new babes added to the family each of the past four years, our gatherings have definitely seen lots of change.  Gone are the Christmas traditions of afternoon pedicures and late night movies. In their place - baby snuggles, little boy giggles, and wrapping paper dance parties (and maybe the occasional tears, boy brawls and diaper blowouts - but thats beside the point!) 

Its the absolute best kind of chaos. 

// A Merry Ritchie Christmas //

If only a photo could capture the sound of the giggles coming from that table. I can only imagine the trouble that these yahoos are going to get into!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

Thank you NamNam and PopPop for yet another perfect Christmas gathering and for helping fill our boys hearts with the magic of the holiday season.

I'm Ba-aaaack! {Holiday Updates}

Its been 2 months since my last post - the longest that I've been away in the 6 years since I started Little Miss Ritchie back in early 2010. I didn't make the conscious decision to step away, but looking back on it, I think that a little break was good for me. I got to a point where I would sit down to post and be at a complete loss for words. Maybe it was just a case of writers block. Maybe it was the laundry list of other tasks that needed my attention. Or maybe...just maybe...it was the fact that our lives finally seem boring (in the best of ways!).  No baby bump show off, no monthly updates on growing babes, no health updates or prayer requests. "Boring" feels oh so good - but it doesn't always make for the most exciting blog content! 

Having said that, the past few months have been filled with a flurry of activity. There were trees to decorate, presents to wrap, cookies to decorate, Christmas programs to kind-of-sort-of-not-really participate in, snow angels to be made, and lots of good ol' fashion time spent with family.  

Making cut-out sugar cookies with 2 insanely busy boys seemed like an overwhelming task on a weekend were daddy was working.  Instead, I did 97% of the leg work while they were napping and then let Harry cut out a few on his own before little brother woke up. If you've ever met Max you'll understand why I didn't include him. Cue mental images of cookie dough flying thru the air and cookie cutter injuries..

 OMG - please ignore the disaster going on in our house. Single mom weekends are messy, y'all.

Oh to have been a fly on the wall of our kitchen when the frosting and sprinkles made an appearance. 

Hello chaos. 

"Mommy, fros' my cookie for me."  

"Ahh! My fingers are sticky!"

"Mama, Maxo has his tongue in the sprinkles."

"Mmmm I lick my cookie."

Don't let the sweet pictures below fool you.

 Enjoying the fruits of his labor. 

More Christmas fun to come!

Halloween {2015}

I've never been one to get overly excited about Halloween. I'm not a big costume person, I usually eat all of our candy before the first trick-or-treaters grace our door-step, and I spend a majority of the night swearing at our dogs because they freak out every time someone rings our bell. 

I guess you could say that I'm a bit of a Halloween Scrooge - or at least I was.

In 2015 my opinion of Halloween did a complete 180 as I was able to experience the magic of the holiday thru the eyes of 3 little boys - "Hulk Smash," Ironman, and the cutest little fisherman in Omaha.

While Matt and I love our own neighborhood, its not ideal for trick-or-treating. All of the homes are on 3+ acre lots which translates into a whole lot of walking for our little boy's little legs. Lucky for us, Matt's sister lives in an amazing neighborhood filled with beautiful old homes and lots of Halloween spirit. With costumes and goody bags in hand, we made our way to Aunt Krazy's house for what would turn out to be the perfect evening.

Junie was a bit "ho hum" when it came to the night's festivities....but she was by far the cutest little mermaid ever!

I was a little concerned that Max, the youngest of the boys, would struggle to keep up and have a trick-or-treating meltdown. Boy was I ever wrong. He insisted of doing everything "by my-elf" and would have kept going well into the night had we not made him stop for dinner at 8:00! Well done Ironman. Well done.

Harrison (3), Max (1), Benson (2)

Watching these 3 grow up together makes my heart so incredibly happy! I secretly hope that they'll recreate this picture for me when they are adults.

I keep replaying this scene over and over in my mind. Three little boys. The chorus of "Trick or Treats," "Happy Hayoweens" and "thank you" as they ambled from one house to the next.  Their wide eyes and eager hands as each house presented them with bowls full of sugary goodness. 

I'm smiling so big my face hurts!

After every single house Hulk flashed the BIGGEST grin and sang/screeched "We need to get MORE candy!" He was in Halloween Heaven.

Oh Halloween - I think that I love you.