Decorating

In previous years, I was super charged about Christmas decorating. The Sunday after Thanksgiving, the house gets purged, everything that is not seasonal is stripped, to be replaced by holly, berries, evergreen, santas and snowmen. We only get to do this for a month. I'm out to make every corner special [tasteful, but special]

Welcome to life with three wild men: We've had the tree for five days and the middle half is decorated. The ornaments on the bottom have been plucked off and twirled on tiny fingers for admiring eyes. The top of the tree is missing its lights. Have you ever tried to rekindle strings of lights with two grabby toddlers about? Well when things got hairy and the lights required some detailed attention that was the end of that job. What was lit, got hung.

My dining room, which already doubles as our closet while construction is in process, now has the mountains (I'm not exaggerating) of storage boxes that in previous years were whisked away before the branches on the tree settled because they were empty and the house was draped in Christmas. Today, still all partially full.

I do have my Holiday Pine Home Fragrance Oil in my lamp ring so at least it smells festive!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

Beach Boys

I love the beach! Like the whole planet, except my brother and maybe a few goofies like him, I think the ocean, the sand, the surf, the smell make the most perfect place. While I do predictably love the beach in the warm weather, I've always loved a book, a hot cup of coffee and warm blanket on the beach in October. After a nearly perfect Thanksgiving holiday to Connecticut & Rhode Island, I think my new favorite beach outing is with four boys and a dog in November. [of course most of my favorite outings include four boys and a dog!!]

anyway, LOVED THIS DAY!!!!!!

Big Ed

My dad took my sister and I out for a casual dinner tonight. He got to talking about family history. We've got some great family history. My grandfather's father and his sister walked across NY state after disembarking from a transatlantic journey. My grandmother's father served 9 years and 14 days in the service b/c he had 14 days to make up for the "hiatus" (read as AWOL) he took in Puerto Rico.

My favorite story was about Big Ed Delahanty, cousin of my grandmother. Rowdy, irish drunk with a mean streak and a vicious stick. The way dad tells it was that after being bounced from another MLB team, he was on the train home. He got terribly rough on the train, he got kicked off in Fort Erie, ON. Three days later, he was found at the bottom of Niagara Falls with a severed leg lost under the Maid of the Mist. The official report was that he was "swept over" the falls, but the family lore was that he was actually murdered.

That is the colorful part. The cool part is that he is a Baseball Hall of Famer and about 20 years ago on my family trip to Cooperstown, my dad was reduced to tears when he was faced with this.


signed,
Not a sports nut, but duly impresssed!!!!

http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers_and_honorees/hofer_bios/Delahanty_Ed.htm

49 Days

Thanks to Katie B, I've got the Christmas countdown officially ticking away.

Barring my kids, who are going to get a play table, some crayons and a Little People (Person?) or two and my husband, who is getting ___________, my Christmas shopping is just about done!! Now I don't mean this as a brag, but rather as an accomplishment. The less shopping that I have to do in the frenzied month of December, the more cookies we'll be baking! YUM!

A word of caution: if Sam offers you a cookie that he tells you he decorated, know that he licks his fingers between every swipe of frosting.

where to start

At the risk of blog-plagery, {http://ginandbridget.blogspot.com/} I have started spending my fantasy millions that I will win from MegaMillions tonight. Unlike my fabulous cousin, I would not retreat to my own island, for very long. There would be loads of sharing, no shortage of beach access, and I probably would not shop at the consignment shop any longer.

The most satisfying epiphany is that I'm totally happy. The barrels of money would put my kids and probably the kids of everyone we know through private school and college. But, we would still live in Buffalo, most of the time. I'd still be a stay-at-home mom, I'd still change diapers, make meals, sing songs, give baths, teach letters and numbers, send them to the dining room chair. I'd still look forward to the peace that Scott and I enjoy when they all go to bed. Truly very little would change.

My kids just might be the only kids in their school who took regular holidays to their own french castle.

Sunday at Wegmans

Which of these three things would make you go to the grocery store on a Sunday when you have to park waaaaaayy back by the sign that reads, "Reserved for People Who Are Concerned About Their Heart" (or some such saying that has you convinced that you are happy to be parking in a seperate time zone):

1. family pack of Pelligrino
2. Wegman's brand version of Lucky Charms
3. toilet bowl cleaner

These are the actual items in the cart of the man in front of me, while we shared the store, on a Sunday afternoon with 1576 of our closest friends.

I was there for some anonymity. Can't figure out for the world why that guy was there!

That's it!

Sometime in our youth, we all begin to active prevent pregnancy. For the longest time, it is easily the worst event that could befall a person. You whisper about it and the unlucky couple. What will they do?

Then inevitably women's bodies kick in and yearn for what they are designed to do. Against the odds, our cellular units connect. And we have a baby! That was so much fun, we did it again! Whoops, how'd that other one get there?!

Here we find ourselves, 33 years old, 3 beautiful boys and better than even chance that we could jump from having 3 to 5 kids since we've already had multiples once. We have our family. Vibrant, bright, funny Sam. Cuddly, happy, thoughtful Aidan. Silly, adventurous, energetic Noah. My Scott, perfect husband, daddy, partner. Throw in the animals - we are full. Blessed, happy and whole. And full.

How strange it is to have come full circle, with another pregnancy being the furthest thing from my plans. After lots of reflection, we decided that there is no time like the present. With the surgical help of Dr. Chazen, we are officially done. Kudos to Scott for being the strong, admirable man that I love so much and going for the much-dreaded vasectomy. And now it is official. We have our family.

Weird. Happy. Done.