want real photos?? Here are some REAL photos!

Here are 2 of my favorite pictures that we got while we were attempting to get the perfect kids picture- an hour and a half later- it never happened. But I LOVE these shots and wanted to share!


Here Erin and Dante are trying so hard to console Ethan and let him know it is ok.. and he is flippin out! He just does NOT want to be doing this!

This one says it all! Are we really still trying to get a good picture Mom??

These were taken a few years ago- Ethan was 18 months in these pictures- and now he is almost 4. My how fast kids grow!

HOT ROD!

Chet and I watched this movie last night! It was pretty darn funny. It had lots or parodies from the 80's! It was great- we laughed and laughed and even had to rewind some parts and laugh some more. I definitely recommend it if you are in a funny mood:)

Here is the trailer! And why is it- when Chet and I watch a movie where we both laugh like we are crazy people talking to the wall- that I fall more and more deeply in love with him??

Happy V-day!

This song is for you babe and for all the other lovers out there! Wrap your arms around each other and hold on tight!

(pause my music box to the left for the full effect and I'm sorry if you hate Phil of Future, but I was too lazy to search for anything else... ok, ok- I'm a in the closet Disney channel lover)

Happy Birthday BIG D!

Wow! I can't believe my little man is now a little old man - and is now 7!! Since I'm wanting a baby badly- I'm going to relive my birth story with Dante.... since he was my first born and it is his birthday!:)

Dante was due March 3rd... and on Feb. 12th I had a drs. appointment. She said that I could go anytime since I was at gestation (37 weeks) but that I would probably go full term. That night, when Chet and I were in bed- I told him how tomorrow we need to go shopping for the baby and get some stuff so that if he comes early, we will be prepared. Well, ooooppppsss that morning at 5 AM my water broke, so needless to say between the hours of midnight and 5 AM we did not have a chance to go shopping- so we had NOTHING for this baby! My contractions weren't that bad- so I stayed home- I didn't know that if your water broke- you could go to the hospital asap and they would keep you. I waited til' my contractions hurt.. then at 10:00 we left for the hospital. I was delivering in a Sacramento hospital, and it was quite packed. I was probably dialated to just a 2 when we arrived and I was not allowed an epidural until I was 4 cm due to all the women in labor and delivery that day. MAN! Did I feel some major pain- mainly because I had back labor as well- and back labor is pure h-e-double hockey sticks! Chet felt bad and left to go get something to eat and brought me back a dairy queen blizzard with EVERYTHING in it- I mean- EVERYTHING! I took 3 sips and ended up throwing up. (this was all before the epidural), and I have learned since- if I eat during labor- I throw up! We tried it again with Ethan. Anyways, I finally reach 4 cm.... the anesthesiologist comes in and the first words out of her mouth as she rushes in are, " Ma'am, I'm only coming in here once to do this- if you make one little bitty move- I will not put the needle in your back and I will leave and not come back. " K- so here is me, in labor for the first time, scared out of my mind- not knowing how on EARTH I will keep still during my contractions while she is putting a needle in my back. I start crying- and I look at my husband and nurse like "what do I do" So, I crouch down and they hold both sides of my legs, and head and constrained me from any movement-- and after it was in- all was perfect! At 7:00 that night I was ready to push- and after pushing for an hour and almost dying- they brought in the vacuum and he was out- he was born at exactly 8:13 PM. All my sisters were telling me to hold out for Valentines day-- I thought it would be cool too- until the pain set in and the pushing set in- and then it was like- NOPE- NOW!!! I was very blessed my dad was out on business in San Fransisco and he came right over when he heard I was in labor... and stayed with me til' my mom made it out the next day. We decided on naming him "Durrant Moroni Ranger" and when the nurse came in for me to fill out the name certificate and saw what name we were giving him she proudly announced, "Why don't you just put a kick me sign on him now" and left. Without further ado I give you Dante Durrant Moroni Ranger (as he likes to call himself)

This is a picture of him after he got a piece of cookie cake smashed into his face by none other then his wonderful dad:) He is no longer a baby.... which he reminded me of this morning.... I was going to get his gloves for him- but one was missing, so I got Ethan's which are a lot like the ones below

but with dinosaurs instead. I did not think Dante "cared", but then when I brought them out to him- he went running in the other direction, hid behind the couch and was like "NO- they'll think I'm a baby!" He would rather be a "man" and not ride his scooter with gloves then wear "baby" ones.

Dante has also learned to use the "quotation" mark gesture! I find it so funny when he uses it. The other night we had just a family party for him with grandparents and aunts-- and we will be having a pool party for him this summer for his 7.5 b-day instead with friends. So, when I told him - are you excited for your party tonight- he goes- "yes- and you mean my (using the marks) "family" party. " I started laughing and was like- where did you learn the quotation symbol- he says, "Mom, it's (again quotaion gesture) "sooo easy".

Happy birthday to my one and only Dante! I love you and you are one amazing kid!! I could NOT imagine life without you:)

Great week!

This past week we had the wonderful privilege to spend it with Chet's parents who flew in from California. The kids loved spending a lot of time with Grandma and Grandpa Ranger. I'm so sad- I don't have hardly any pics as my camera decided to go "kaput".... and suck the life out of every battery I put in it 2 seconds after I put them in it. Why we sold the Digital Rebel XTi- I'll never know.. actually I do know why- it is the same as it is with our cell phones- Chet can only hold onto a model for so long, before he has to sell it and upgrade- so that way we get the most money out of the item, and we also can upgrade to the next best thing(I guess it makes sense, but right now- to me, it doesn't:))- so for now I'm stuck with some canon, that has been ok for a little bit- but now needs to go to the hosable. (as many little kids like to call it- or hospital)

But- back to the good news and with the pictures I currently have.

We went to NASA on Thursday. We took Dante out of school and it was so much fun! They had a live shuttle launch that day- (that we didn't even know about until it came on the big screen and the announcer started talking). Grandma and Grandpa Ranger were so nice and they bought us season tickets to the space center and I will be going almost daily- especially- once the gas prices start moving in a downward spiral. The HUGE kids play place rocks and I could go down that slide a million times and still come out laughing!

Well for now- enjoy the pics and there will be more to come:) Thanks again Grandma and Grandpa Ranger for a GREAT time!!

While we were there we took the tram tour around Johnson space center and it was a beautiful day... but a little chilly on the tram for some.....

Here is Chet and Ethan hiding under his shirt- trying to keep warm.
This is the big jet and it is HUGE!
The engines on the jet!
And Erin, Ethan and Dante on the moon. I'm soooo mad about this! This was the closest I could zoom in to get the whole moon and the kids- and it took me a while to try- and as I was trying the kids were doing all kind of funny poses(but totally serious) thinking I was going snap crazy. Then my camera went dead- and I didn't get any of the really hilarious poses! What is so funny- is they were being totally serious- and Ethan is some weird contorting phase.. like he is playing twister or something.

Maybe next time!

ps..... update to my previous fashion post. Ethan is a little color coordinator. He matches EVERYTHING (even though it does not look like it in my fashion post:)) - anyways... the other day I tell him to go get dressed and it is dark in his room- and I go in there and he is bawling- I mean BAWLING! I was like- Ethan- what is wrong- and he is like I can't find my black shorts... I was like here- where these blue ones, and he starts freaking out- but they don't match my shirt. However- they did match his shirt- he just couln't tell his shirt was navy blue in the dark and thought it was black.
Then on the morning when we went to Nasa- Erin walks out with jeans, a pink sweatshirt and pink shoes-- and Ethan goes- ERIN- you just DO NOT match!! So, I looked at Erin again- and the jeans she had put on, were the ones with red trim... so- technically they did not match with the pink! It was sooooo funny! (he definitely gets that from Chet!)

Chet will have me put a gym bag together for him- and he will be like- just make sure you put a shirt in my bag that matches my gym shorts- I have probably put his gym bag together 50 times.... and out of that 50 times I have probably NEVER mismatched his outfit-- but according to him- I have. Then I say- I'm sure people at the gym are saying- MAN- he just DOES NOT match! It kills me everytime:)

Lesson learned

This is a warning for you:

When you decide to slice your finger like this while cutting cheese for your kids sandwiches...


Then don't scream and when they ask what happened don't say you cut your finger off, because when they see the streaming blood.. they will believe you and you will have ALL your kids doing this.....

ps. it still hurts!

Fashion Week

I thought that this would be an appropriate post since it is Fashion Week in good ol' NYC. Thanks to Ugly Betty I am now a regular fashion diva... but I can't say the same for my kids... but who knows- not everything on the runway is something I would wear either.:)

Here we have Ethan in a very long swimsuit (Dante's to be precise) with an attempt at color coordination with his green tiger shirt to match his colorful surfboard swimsuit. But- that is not all- to top it off, he is wearing his rain boots- by the one and only Stride Rite. You can see Ethan out on the streets daily in one of his many swimsuits, and when his have all been worn- you will find him in one of Dante's and sadly - occasionally one of Erin's. My favorite part of Ethan's wardrobe is when he chooses to accessorize with one of these:
A super stretch headband... as he calls them.


Next we have Erin- who can ALWAYS be found wearing a dress. She will only put on pants if it is freezing outside- and then as soon as we get home- she changes into a dress.

Here she is displaying her cute little Chinese dress from Chinatown in San Fran.

This is one of her dresses that she also has a matching dress for her little doll.
And this is one of my personal favorite sun dress of hers- that she hardly ever wears, come to think of it.

She has been known to chastise me for NEVER EVER wearing a dress except to church and she is constantly wondering why?! (I don't think I have ever gone through a dress wearing stage- even when I was 2!)


And last but not least- we have DANTE! Dante has a sense of style of his own- called the "I just don't care style". He dresses in Ethan's clothes sometimes on accident.... hence the belly shirt.


And he also still puts his clothes on backwards on accident. (check out the logo on his shorts) He is 7 in like 9 days- so - that really tells you either I'm a bad mom- or he "doesn't care":)

So, we may not be on the NYC runways yet- but they seem to put a smile on my face every time!