My Celebrity Look-alikes

My cool celebrity look-alike collage from MyHeritage.com. Get one for yourself.



OK..I haven't laughed this hard in a LONG time. I can handle Elisha Cuthbert. But what??? I look like a guy? No wait...two guys??? You have to try this. It is hilarious!

Two years ago today...

Our Mae Mae was born. Happy birthday!!!

Gianna's turning two!

We celebrated Gianna's 2nd birthday on Sunday with our family. Was it really two years ago that I was pregnant?!?! She is pure joy and we all love her to pieces! Love you Mae Mae!!!

Happy Birthday

My wonderful, loving, caring, always giving Dad! Happy birthday to you! Seventy-four years young and so happy to have you back in good health!!! What more could I want? I love you!!!

Delays

My digital camera has an awful delay. I think I have the best picture and then look what ends up happening...

My little one with her finger up her nose.

Am I looking forward to that first really warm day???

OK...so I haven't posted in a while and this post is on the negative side. But that is how I've been feeling lately. I just can't seem to get out of my own way. I'm so glad the warm weather is coming but then I start thinking about how white my skin is. I glow in the spring. I think about how I would love to go to tanning but then I think about skin cancer and wrinkles and it's just not worth it. The fake tan stuff makes my skin itch. I must be allergic to something in it. So I guess I will glow. Yuck.

Also I can't even think about putting on my spring clothes because I've been lazy with my diet and not exercising enough this winter and just know everything will be tight. Double yuck.

What an attractive thought...white as a ghost AND fat. I'm going to look so BE-U-T-FUL when that first warm day hits and I put on my tight clothes and my skin is glowing white. HA! I go through this EVERY spring. You would think I would be used to it by now.

But on a lighter note, here's a pic that makes me smile...my Daniel & Julia.

Friday's Feast

OK...so it's Saturday. Better late then never!

Appetizer
1) Where on your body do you have a scar, and what caused it? I have a scar on my knuckle from a fall. When I was very pregnant with Gianna I tripped on a shoe that was left on the stairs. I took a nasty fall scraping my hand on a stucco wall. As I lay in a crumpled heap on the floor of our garage I bumped the mops and brooms that hung on the wall and they all proceeded to fall off the wall and hit me on the head.

Soup
2) What is something that has happened to you that you would consider a miracle? Conceiving Julia and Gianna on our own. We were told we would never get pregnant without the help of medicine. Ha! Were they ever wrong!

Salad
3) Name a television personality who really gets on your nerves. Right now it is Rosie O'Donnell. She is way too outspoken these days.

Main Course
4) What was a funny word you said as a child? I used to say "markbook" instead of "bookmark". Julia says "headfor" instead of "forehead". She must get that from me!

Dessert
5) Fill in the blank...I always thought _____ was _____. I always thought Danny was so cute. And of course I still do!!

For more Friday's Feast go here.

Nicholas' wish

My sweet boy. For Valentine's Day Nicholas and his kindergarten class learned some songs and made Valentine's card to pass out to the elderly at a local assisted living facility. Afterwards when we were driving back to his school he asked why all the old people lived together there. I explained that some are sick and need help of the doctors and nurses there. He said, "Mom, when we go to Disney I'm going to make a wish that all the old people get better and can go home to live with their families again." He is so compassionate. What a wonderful quality to possess.

My Rock

About ten years ago I was desperately trying to have a baby. We went through endless tests and finally were told we should try IVF. Along the way, I found a wonderful, caring friend who was on the same journey as me. Her name was Joann. I had posted a message on an infertility website and she just happened to respond to one of my posts. Now mind you, people post from all over the world on this message board. Soon after corresponding with her we both realized not only were we from the same state, we were going to the same infertility clinic and had the same doctor! I just knew we were meant to meet. It was so amazing to have found someone who knew exactly what I was going through. We became email buddies. I really looked forward to her emails each day.

Every once in a while Joann would send me little gifts in the mail to help cheer me up. Once after yet another failed cycle she sent me a card with encouraging words as well as a package of my favorite candy, M&M's. For Christmas that year she sent me a beautiful glass ornament of a cradle. She said her grandmother used to give them as gifts to families with hopes of a new baby that year. Every year I hang it on my tree as a reminder of those long years of waiting and also of my wonderful, compassionate friend who gave it to me.

Then one day, after yet another failed cycle, I received this patience rock from Joann. It took a while for it to sink in but I finally realized that I was trying to control the uncontrollable and needed to be PATIENT.

I think it is so ironic how this rock has taken on new meaning these days. I now keep three "angels" next to it as a reminder to be patient with our children.

There is a happy ending to this story. Joann and I gave birth to babies less than two months apart. I will forever be grateful to my friend Joann.

Rocks in My Dryer

I love this blog. Shannon is so insightful and very funny. I was reading today's post and it really struck a chord with me. Click here to read. Nicholas and Julia are exactly one year and 18 days apart. Those days when they were little were so so hard and many days I would just fall into bed (or the closest couch) and just collapse. I would pray they would just sleep so I could rest for a moment. Then along came Gianna when N&J were only two and three years old. It does get easier but still they are all so needy. The only "me" time I get is maybe four nights a week after they go to bed (I work the other three nights from home) for maybe an hour a two. So that totals about eight hours a week. That's it. Of course I'm also on call during that time as well. OK...I'm really not complaining...maybe just whining a bit. It's just so nice to hear someone actually validate what I am feeling. So a big THANK YOU to Shannon!!!

Kindergarten Registration

I just got home from registering Nicholas for public kindergarten next year. I actually felt sick to my stomach while I was filling out the school forms. Just this morning I totally "get" why parents send their kids to private school. I'm so sad that he will be leaving the security of his preschool environment. He is in a safe little cocoon right now . I feel as if I'm going to be sending him off into the jungle to fend for himself from now on. OK, I'm being dramatic but I'm so nervous for him...and for me.

Wordless Wednesday

For more Wordless Wednesdays go here.

Wordless Wednesday

For more Wordless Wednesdays go here.

Little Miss Sunshine

Mae Mae is my ray of light every day. She is simply beyond cute. In this picture she is enjoying some Dunkin' munchkins. Every day is a fun day for her. She loves Nicholas and Julia and has no idea that she is only one. She just wants to keep up with them. She can already "count" to twenty if just a bit out of order and knows some shapes. She amazes me everyday.

Anxiety

2006 was a very rough year for me personally. I'm so glad to see it go. It was a series of wakes and funerals for me.

1) My father-in-law died of cancer (November 2005).
2) My best friend lost her Dad to cancer.
3) A week later that same best friend lost her cousin to a massive heart attack. She was only in her thirties and had two small children. This totally freaked me out.
4) My cousin's husband committed suicide. They have a little girl the same age as my Julia, three-years-old at the time.
5) Two close friends lost grandparents.
6) My step-mother lost her mother.
7) My aunt was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer and died very soon after her diagnosis.

Then my Dad had two operations on his back and he continues to battle his multiple myeloma. He is in remission as we speak but there is no cure.

I wish I wasn't so fearful of death. I'm always so afraid of losing someone I love. Last year I was so freaked out by everything I went to the doctor and was put on a medication for my anxiety and panic attacks.

Overall I am feeling much better and more in control. I feel a lot stronger and refuse to live my life in fear of things I cannot control. So I have chosen to stop my medication. We'll see how it goes.

Kissing

Kissing ~ Sunday Scribblings

Nicholas kissing a new life about to come into the world. He had quite a fascination with my belly when I was pregnant with Gianna. He would be very protective of me when I would get uncomfortable with the many jabs and pokes Gianna would give me. He would open my mouth and yell inside, "Baby...stop hurting Mama"! Nicholas adores his baby sister who is now almost two years old.

Kisses...sticky, sloppy and sweet from my little ones. Simply the best kiss there is.

2006 in review

The top 20 highlights (and lowlights) of 2006:

1) Saw Ricky Martin live in concert...simply fantastic!
2) My best friend, Patty, lost her Dad to cancer.
3) We bought the business from my Dad. We are officially small business owners.
4) Gianna talked ("hi") and walked (March 16th) for the first time all before turning one.
5) Gianna turned one on March 29th.
6) Gianna cuddled with me and said, "Mamamamama".
7) Dad had his back operated on so now he has some of his mobility back.
8) Danny & I went to Philly for a weekend without the kids.
9) My step-mother's mom died.
10) We discovered we had termites and how expensive it is to get rid of them.
11) We had the decking around the pool done over. I think they used diamonds for nails.
12) We were quite broke for the remainder of the summer.
13) My sister Kim married her best friend and partner, Paula. :)
14) My sweetest aunt, Dottie, died of inflammatory breast cancer.
15) Went to see Jimmy Buffett and had a BLAST!
16) My babies, Julia and Nicholas, turned 4 and 5 in August.
17) Nicholas started kindergarten and Julia started preschool.
18) We celebrated 13 years of marriage in September and are happier than ever.
19) Kerry and I went to "So you think you can dance" in Providence. So fun!
20) Celebrated Christmas with my family (except Ricky, Chieko and the kids). Everyone is still here and healthy for the most part. And for that I am grateful.

I'm looking forward to 2007 and hoping that it is a fun, yet uneventful, year.

My Little Blessings

Today was the Christmas program at Little Blessings. Julia got to hold a star during her play. And Nicholas was so grown up singing front and center for his program. After each program they sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and had cupcakes for snacks. I love Little Blessings.

La Salette - Festival of Lights

300,000 lights...

On the way to La Salette, Nicholas asked what exactly we were going to be doing there. Julia asked if there would be a jumparoo. (Ha!) When we told them we were going there to look at all the beautiful lights and to view the baby Jesus Nicholas said, "Oh...that is going to be soooo boring!". Oh my goodness.

We lit a candle for Danny's dad and said a quiet prayer for him. He has been gone now for just over a year. I also thought of my grandparents and how much I miss them, especially at this time of the year.

It was just so beautiful. The pictures I took simply do not do it justice.

Getting ready for Santa

I absolutely love this time of the year. My kids are so excited for Christmas and are at the best age for it. Everything is so magical for them. We went to the "North Pole" on Sunday for a Polar Express event. They really and truly believed they were going to the North Pole that day. I told them I would push the red button on my dashboard to make the car go extra fast for the long drive to the North Pole. (We were only going a few towns away for a fifteen minute drive.) I yelled, "Hang on tight!" and they squealed in delight at how "fast" we were going. The look on their faces when we arrived was priceless. The event was held in a huge white, heated tent with lots of lights. Inside were all kinds of kid's activities and cart fulls of penny candy. They loaded up our stroller with tootsie rolls and lollypops. After about a half hour, before Santa even arrived, they were exhausted and asked if they could go home. Oh well. The magic only lasts for so long I guess!