Welcome Noah Anthony!

Nephew Noah Anthony Bell was born yesterday at 5:45 am. He has lots of dark hair and dark eyes. He weighed in at 8 lbs and measured 20.5 inches. Mother, father, big brother and big sisters are all doing well. Congratulations!

I hate people

Apparently I've said that before.
So I'm in Wal-mart yesterday in a ridiculous hurry as always. I needed formula and tights for Ally. And of course I bought more than that and now have like 45 minutes to get the kids dressed, pick up Chris and shoot across town to the church for the free family photo. As I plop all my stuff on the counter the lady says "Do you want to get this here?" I purse my lips together, raise my eyebrows in my best you're a fucking idiot stare and nod slowly saying "Why wouldn't I?" I mean what about my demeanor says I want to pack up all three kids and my stuff and move to another register? Was it shooing Paige away from all the register items, or swatting Joshy out of my purse or bouncing Ally to stop the crying? "Oh, um, I don't know" she mumbles. So then we continue on with the ringing up. She makes some comment about Ally being cute. Thanks I say, barely paying attention. Then she says "What happened to all her hair?" I'm sorry? She just doesn't have any yet. What happened to all your manners I wanted to say. And really had to restrain myself to not say it. But frankly I was in too much of a hurry and she still had a lot of ringing to do, I didn't have time to get into it with her. What is the matter with people anyway?!? Seriously. This is a 6 month old baby. What happened to her hair you say? What has happened to society I say.

Love this weather

Nope, not being sarcastic. I actually do. I guess it's the melancholy in me. I mean don't get me wrong, I don't want it to rain and be dreary all the time. But that white overcast sky, maybe with a little drizzly rain says fall in New England to me. Its often the weather of Thanksgiving so it makes me excited for that. And the yellow trees look just as beautiful framed by the white sky as they do with sun bouncing off them. Yep, I like a good dreary fall day every now and then. That's why I'm nuts I guess.

Happy Birthday Sue!

Welcome to the other side of 35! Its not that bad here, really. And look at all of us over here: me, Jeff, Scott, Becky, David, Joel, Melissa, Dave. You're in good company. Hope you have a great day and don't worry too much about the number.

So freaking bored!

Nothing to do, no one to talk to. Going out of my mind!!!

Know What I Miss?

Memorial Day weekends at the lake during the college years. I miss a lot of things and a lot of people. And frankly I miss the lake in general. Having a place to go to get away, looking at the moon through the trees on the water at night, the smell of must and gas stove, and the family memories I have. But today I miss those weekends in particular. I miss the float on the lake day and flav-or-ice day and toasting marshmellows over the toaster (even though I wasn't a huge fan back in the day.) I miss the fight about putting the pasta sauce on the entire bowl of pasta or allowing each person to sauce their own, Susan buring Darren with a hot marshmellow, the flood from the shower (didn't you empty the bucket, what bucket! Ugh!) the fight with my mom about letting us go and the payment of toilet paper, Uncle John and Johnny waking us up with the powerwasher, the freezing cold mornings, the fire by the water with lots of beer, the Rock 102 Memorial Day Top 500, shopping at the Big Y in Ware. So many things. Probably in about 10-15 years we'll be able to go away without our kids so those carefree times could come again. And since it was probably 10-15 years ago that this happened we're closer to going again than we think!

Proud of Our Girl

Paige came in 2nd place in both of her competitions at the big Baton Competetion last weekend in Somers. She participated in Basic and Military Marching for her age group. Also her class did their routine and they came in 3rd. Yay Paige! You did a terrific job!!

May 11th

Yesterday was "leaf day", as it has come to be known. And my dad even called me and remembered. He said "Well, today is May 10th and that's the day I normally say all the leaves should be out and it looks like summer." And he is right. It does pretty much. Its funny to me that he remembers because this is a man that hasn't lived here in 17 years almost to the date. And although he had lived here for 42 years when he moved away he's forgotten things like where I played softball for 10 years and where the library is. So to remember the date of when the leaves have bloomed is something.

And tomorrow is/would be Katharine Hepburn's 99th birthday. Can you imagine!

Quote of the Day

President Jed Bartlett (Martin Sheen, The West Wing) to a couple caught making out in the basement of the hotel where he has just given a speech and is making his exit, "Hey there fella! She deserves a nice room and some supper!"

Cracks me up every time!

I Know a Little Boy Who Swallowed A...

...pen cap. Well, not a BIC pen "cap" you see but the screw in end of a Pentel RSVP. The part that screws into the top- holding in the ink. Paige had been writing and left the pen on the couch. Seems like a normal thing to do. Until we found Joshy with the pen all disassembled and chewing on something. I tried to get him to give it to me and as he turned away from me he tipped his head up. I'm guessing that's when it went down. I asked him if he swallowed it and he said yes, but then again he's 19 months. Does he know what I'm asking? Does he know what he's saying? Apparantly. We moved the couch just to see (even though we didn't hear it hit the floor) and it wasn't there. Still waiting for it to come out, which the doctor said would take about 3 days. We're on day two and so far nothing. I'll keep you posted!

New Neice

Welcome Emma Grace Regula!
Congratulations to Heather, Jason and big sister Olivia!
She was born today at 3:07 pm.
9lbs 19 inches, lots of dark hair.

Live Strong, Be Strong, Write Strong!

Paige was the 1st grade winner from her school in the "Live Stong, Be Strong, Write Strong!" writing contest. For this she received a tee shirt and got to read her story at today's all school assembly. Auntie Missy and Mommy went to watch. Her story is called "My Pets" and here is what she wrote:

My Pets

I love my dog.

He keeps me safe, sleeps with me and plays with me.

He is blonde and furry.

My fish are fun to watch.

They chase each other.

They have a castle in the tank.

By: Paige Tetro

We are so proud of her!!

Casting Champion

Paige has a hidden talent. Chris took her to the Springfield Sportsman Show at the Big E last weekend and while they were there she tried fishing in a man made pond. She also entered a casting contest where they have to cast their bait onto a target at certain distances away. There's a whole program called CastingKids where they have these contents nationwide and the winners can get scholarships. Paige entered the contest twice. A perfect score was 150 (50 points each for 3 different types of casts). The first time she got a 60. But the 2nd time she entered she got a 100 which was enough points to qualify her to win the contest enter the state championship!! She took home a Zebco 33 fishing pole, a medal, a certificate, some lures, a target to practice with, a t-shirt and a coupon for a free fishing trip with a paid adult! It was unbelievable! Here are some pictures of her from the local website (MassBass).

Joshy pooped on the potty!

Last night during dinner Joshy was really struggling to poop. Chris took him out of his high chair and asked if he'd like to try to go on the potty. Joshy has been asking to use the potty every night for a week or so. Usually around bathtime when his diaper comes off. And after a few nights of him peeing on the floor we're all for it! But he's never actually done anything. Well shortly after they went in there we heard clapping and cheering. Paige and I burst in the room and Joshy was looking a little dazed, not quite sure what had happened and staring at the gigantic poop in the toilet. We clapped and cheered for a while but he just seemed a little freaked out. I'm sure he won't do it again for quite some time but we're pretty proud of the little guy for at least having an interest and wanting to try already.

So freaking sick!

Oh my god I've been on my deathbed! Vomiting and diarrhea from about 6pm Sunday night until about 7am Monday morning. Couldn't even keep down the tiniest sips of water. Then we went to the ER on advice from the OBGYN to get some IV fluids. My blood pressure was so low they thought I was going to pass out and my heart rate was very high. All of which show how "bone dry" I was. Two bags of fluid later and I barely had to pee. Not good. My potassium was low, I was anemic and my chloride was low- whatever that means! Thankfully the baby was fine. Apparently when you start to vomit like that your pregnant body "shunts" all your nutrients into the baby (good thinking mother nature). So not only am I loosing my nutrients into the toilet but then the rest gets sucked into the baby. Which puts me really low. They also gave me some good stuff for the nausea which did help. We were there for about 6 hours! Can't even image that bill-thank god for insurance! Today I just slept all day. Finally able to eat a little: bananas, toast, tea and gatorade. My body is so achy from all the vomiting. Thanks for all your help the past few days, Chris. Couldn't have done it without you.

Disney Trip

Well, we're back. We had a great time overall. Very exhausted and sometimes cranky but mostly very, very good. Here are some memories:

High Points
-How great the kids were on the plane.
-Seeing Paige's eyes light up at the whole experience.
-Eating in the Castle and seeing the Princesses.
-Watching Cinderella's Royal Coronation.
-Having a $100 dinners that we didn't have to pay for because of the meal plan! What a deal that is!
-Paige getting chosen by Crush in the Living Seas for a chat.
-Getting to see Dad and Sue, getting lost on the way to dinner!
-Joshy taking his shoes off a million times a day in each park and not knowing it until we ran over them with the stroller. This sounds like a bad thing but really became pretty comical!
-The parades and firework shows.
-Being able to do things for Paige that I wouldn't have gotten as a child like the hair wrap, face painting and character meals.


Low Points
-Joshy throwing his bottle in the garbage while Paige and Chris were in Stitch's great escape. He just said "baba" so I gave it to him and next thing I knew it was in the garbage!
-Paige whining about her feet hurting and asking Chris for a piggyback.
-Joshy not eating for the first few days because he's so stubborn and would rather not eat than be fed.
-Joshy crying for at least an hour one night waking everyone up with no explanation as to why.
-Some kid kicking Joshy in the face at Pooh's Thoughtful Spot.
-Paige's fear of all things scary, making her freak out in line for Peter Pan (what if Captain Hook jumps out at me!). She refused to see Voyage of the Little Mermaid (what if there is a big Ursula) at MGM and the Beauty & the Beast Show. As Chris says, we never have to worry about this one bungy jumping!
-Huge, poorly behaved children jumping over Joshy, pushing him and knocking him down in the Toon Town Park.
-Taking insanely overcrowded bus back to the resort and having to stand because no one would let a pregnant woman sit down.
-Listening to Paige complain about things we weren't buying her when she had more stuff than the rest of us combined!

Stats and Thoughts

Like Susan I have lots of random thoughts running through my head. Going to try blurting them all out and hope my head clears a little.

1. After a long trying day I made it through January 4th. We're all a year older.

2. Due to the age difference from Paige to the baby I'm going to be bringing kids to Parkman School for the next 12 years of my life! Remember I attended this school from 1975-1982 and now I'm going to have to be involved there again from 2004-2018!!! I will be 47 1/2 and still going to Parkman School! Like doing the dishes for Sue, this is what brings me down. The getting ready for school in the morning chore. Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up, all the while with a one year old clinging to my legs! Ugh! 12 more years.

3. I'm really bummed about the miners. I just got a CD Soundtrack of Coal Miner's Daughter and I had been listening to it over and over, thinking of the years I spent in mining country and the people I knew. Then this happened. I didn't sleep much on Tuesday night and when I did I dreamed about the trapped men. Its weird when stories of people I don't know take over my thoughts. I guess I "know" these people in some sense and that's why. Its a hard life and this is going to make it so much worse for so many families. My heart breaks for them.

4. Disney in 9 days! I need this vacation so bad! Here are the stats:
- Haven't been to Disney since 1989.
- Haven't flown away for a vacation since my honeymoon in August 1998.
(since visiting family doesn't count.)
- Haven't been away on vacation for a whole week since July of 2002.
- Haven't been on a plane since October 2002.

I NEED THIS TRIP SO FREAKING BAD!

I've lost the ability to judge...

Is it wrong that I think Dean Martin music is sexy?
Is it wrong to have 3 oatmeal cookies for breakfast? Oats, good. Raisins, good.
Why was Frank Sinatra so popular? He sings like a goodfella.
These are the kinds of questions that go through my mind!

Welcome Julie Samantha!

Born Friday December 2nd. Congratulations to Mom, Dad and both big sisters!
Paige can't wait to meet you!!

Oldies

So as I scan through the stations on the radio and it passes 102.9 I am shocked at what passes as "oldies" lately. I guess this is mostly a problem I have with my perception of what is considered an oldie. To me it does not represent songs that are X number of years old. To me oldies will always be Motown, Doo-wop songs from the early 60s, maybe even a little Bill Haley and other late 50s songs as well. The Platters, the Shirelles, Percy Sledge. An oldie is NOT Cyndi Lauper, the Eurthimics or the Rolling Stones (despite their age). It is not Huey Lewis or Fleetwood Mac. This really isn't a fight against being old, I'm 35 and that's fine. I just think they're categorizing their music in an odd way. Maybe they're changing their image or playlist or whatever it's called. But to me "Big D 103" will always be oldies and those songs just don't fit the bill.