*~*Fairy Tale Romance*~*

SMR...
My husband. My best friend. My soul mate. My sidekick. My guardian. My therapist. My coach. My motivator. My confidant. My everything. 

If you're gagging at the mushy lovey dovey stuff, stop reading. I'm certainly not forcing you to and would not be offended in the least. It's no secret that I am head over heels, in puppy dog love, for this guy. He rocks. I didn't always think so, and there are certainly days where I am mad or frustrated at him, but that's human nature. Nothing is perfect, I certainly am not and I know I drive him insane on most days too, but bottom line is we are smitten.

When I was downloading quote pics for the last post, I realized a lot were about love so I wanted to keep those in a separate, special place. The reason this blog is here in the first place is because of Scott, indirectly. He didn't know I wanted to start one and probably couldn't care either way if I created it or not, but it wouldn't be "TEAM RICCI" without him. He's a huge part of who I am and where I am today. Sure we are our own personalities, but I wouldn't be exactly where I am in this moment without him. And I mean that in a good way. Scott has taught me a lot of valuable things in life through different experiences we have lived through. He's been my coach and mentor in situations where I have no idea what I'm doing, he's been my therapist when I need advice for how to approach countless life situations, and he's been an amazing friend- we enjoy spending time together whenever we can.

Amen to that!

Engagement Pics 

I hope everyone experiences the bond that we have together at some point in their life~ if you find it, hold onto it and don't let go. I am truly blessed to be in the relationship that I am with Scott. We have our balance of ups and downs, differences, arguments, and things that we may lack as a couple, BUT despite it all I would truly not want it any other way. We have a blast together (on most days!) and genuinely have fun being together. We are two big kids and often act like goofballs whenever we can. Why do you think we go to Disney so much??! ;)

This pose was Mickey's idea ;)

I often wonder if part of the reason our bond is so strong is due to the fact that we have very different work schedules. I'm a school teacher; Scott is a retail manager. I work Monday-Friday and am usually home somewhere between 4 and 5:30 (depending on what kind of day I had) with weekends and holidays off; he works practically EVERY weekend and holiday. My schedule is 100% predictable; his changes every week. His days off are always different, his shifts are always different. This makes it very hard to make plans (for ourselves, with friends, and for events) and the amount of time we see each other varies week to week. The holiday season is one of my favorite times of the year, and the busiest for Scott. Our schedules could be more polar opposite I suppose (and I am thankful for that), but it is a struggle compared to couples that both work Mon-Fri business hour jobs. We don't know what that's like at all because he's been in retail for 12 years now, just after high school. We started dating 2 years before that but were young high school kids in love who pretty much only hung out on weekends. So it's hard (for us) at times. I stress "for us" because compared to military couples, it's nothing. I have friends that are military spouses so I totally get that I have it easier than you, and I'm not trying to throw stones, just saying it stinks for us. An average week consists of a schedule like this for Scott: Sun: 10-8, Mon- 12:30-close (which could be about 11:30 leaving work), Tues- off, Wed-off (days off aren't always consecutive), Thurs- meeting from 8-10, then back for the 2:00-close shift (something like that), Fri- 12:30-close, Sat- 11-9.... This varies week to week in the shifts and days. Sometimes, once in a blue moon, he will open and we will actually get to have dinner together. Sometimes, again rare, he will work the late shift on Saturday and stay late to do the ad set for Sunday, and be off on Sunday as a reward. It stinks. I'm usually in bed before he comes home, and I leave before he's up or as he's getting up. He goes to work before I come home, so there are a lot of evenings and weekends spent with me, myself, and I. I try to keep busy as best I can, it gives me a lot of opportunities to hang out with friends on the weekends, and occasionally some alone time is nice to do the things I want to do and not feel bad about leaving him at home. I think because our time is limited and not consistent or predictable week to week, it gives us a better appreciation for the time we do have together. I sometimes think it's a blessing in disguise because we get to be ourselves separately and together. It's never JUST us attached at the hip, but it's never us alone all the time either. It's not an equal balance, but it is a balance. Some days I hate it and miss him like crazy and will cry over being alone for another night or weekend. When I've had a stressful day at work or a bad day just because, or I've heard yet another pregnancy announcement, I wish I could run to him for a hug but often have to settle for sending a text if he's at work. We are there for each other in the best way that we can be, and it's the way we've lived for the last 12 years. It's not ideal but we roll with it and find ways to work with it. Holidays stink because it means more hours away from home and lots of angry, mean customers demanding products when they are the crazy ones coming to a store expecting an item on Christmas Eve, and yelling at Scott. Thanksgiving is often interrupted to get to sleep early for Black Friday insanity, and we can never ever go away during the holidays when I'm off. Ultimately, we'd love for Scott to get out of retail and into something that has a schedule closer to mine. I often imagine the possibilities~ dinner together most nights at a decent time (I'd actually cook more rather than throwing together randomness for myself at whatever time I feel like), weekend day trips or fun outings, sleeping in together, doing home projects together, taking a weekend trip somewhere, making plans with friends/couples who have "normal schedules" too.

Baby making would have been less stressful too if we had some consistency. It doesn't matter now as we are going the in vetro route in the fall/winter (hopefully), but before we knew we were facing infertility, it was SUPER stressful timing certain things that are essential while trying to conceive. I would get obsessed with certain dates on the calendar each month (a very tiny window for those who don't know~ it is NOT as easy as they make it seem in health class... yet all those people with unwanted pregnancies STILL manage to get pregnant. I swear, if everyone would be more in tune with their cycle, they might be able to prevent such things) and then realize Scott was closing pretty much each of those nights. And I am not a night person, not usually ever, but especially not on school nights. I need my sleep, a lot of it, and I am super cranky otherwise. Feeling forced into something because the calendar said so was not a fun time for either of us. It often caused extra stress, arguments, and me feeling deflated each month. No fun. I kept thinking it would be easier if we were on the same schedules. This would probably be a little bit true, but not completely. Plus it doesn't matter now anyway. Phew, glad those days are done!

Germany, July '12

Ok, I keep blabbing and forgetting the reason I started this rant. See, I could write all day. I can go on and on about a topic I'm into. Ask me to write a research paper on something, forget it. I don't know what I'm talking about and it takes me hours to get something mediocre down. This is more my thing... ok rambling again, sorry! Back to Scott...

Scott is a jokester. He's hysterical. Some people dislike him when they first meet him (1 was one of them, remember?). My best friends from college weren't super impressed with him on 1st impression either, but now love him (I think! haha). I think because we are pretty opposite, people expect someone different and more like me- quiet yet bubbly, super smiley and animated at times, pretty reserved, etc... and then they meet Scott, who can be a strong personality (in a good way) and they're just, well, confused. People who take the time to get to know him love and admire him in the end. He's blunt and will tell you the truth about something right to your face, he doesn't believe in BSing someone. He's funny. He can ALWAYS make me laugh or smile- even when I don't want to, ESPECIALLY when I don't want to. If I'm mad at him and want to make a point, he'll find a way to make me smirk and the whole operation goes down. Grr. I have a face that he coined the "I hate you but I love you" face~ Trying to be serious but can't help smirking. Gosh, I love that kid. He has the best smile- hates smiling for pictures, but his real genuine smile is the cutest. He gives the best hugs. I try to steal at least 2 from him a day- but I will be annoying and try to sneak in as many as I can. I am such a hugger and these get me through my days. He's a great snuggler. Most nights we curl up on the couch with some popcorn and drinks, and watch TV snuggled with each other. He has blue eyes, which I love. He's tall (and I'm short), which sometimes stinks but it makes hugs nice because his chin can rest right on my head when we hug, and I sometimes like to stand on a step and hug him because then we're the same height (ha, I'm such a dork!). He's super handy dandy at home. He does laundry. He likes to shop and run errands with me. He's creative. He's smart. He's kind, respectful, and genuine. He's a great husband, friend, brother, son, and uncle. He's my high school sweetheart. He's my kiss goodnight.

Our engagement party~ 2005

11:11 is our thing: make a wish and say I Love You <3

He makes my heart smile... and I don't ever want to lose him. <3

Team Ricci~ Est. 2007