Foto Friday Part I

Let's catch up on the past 4 years, shall we? Today we'll do a family foto stream:

CHRISTMAS 2011

EASTER 2012

SUMMER 2012

Vacationing in Sunny California!

CHRISTMAS 2012

CHRISTMAS 2012 

Spent in San Diego where Dan was performing for 6 weeks!

SUMMER 2013 

Trip to Virginia - Taken in front of the Church where Dan and I were married!

SUMMER 2013

Trip to Virginia - My whole family!

FALL 2013

Hiking on Mount Charleston

CHRISTMAS 2013

(Just realized we never took a family photo! FOTO FAIL!)

Things I learned writing this post:

• All of my photos from 2009-2011 are on my external hard drive. I can not find the cable to connect that hard drive to my MacBook. When I do there will be a "Part II".  
• Blogger has changed their dashboard considerably since 2009.
• I have forgotten everything I once knew about HTML.
• I need to purge though the photos on my MacBook. (WHY do I take so many photos of coffee and libations?!?)
• I use exclamation points far too often for a gal my age!
• I forgot how much I enjoy blogging. Especially when it's a procrastination from the enormous task of packing up our town home of 10 years to move into a NEW HOUSE!

Testing… testing… is this thing on?

Back to Blogging

But with a difference: This blog is going private. As the boys get older and safety becomes an issue, I don't want their lives public on the world-wide-web. But I still want a place where I can chronicle their adventures 'cause Lord knows I'm still not crafty enough to put together scrapbooks!

I'd also like to post without attracting the cyber trolls who take any opportunity to debate minutia... like if Stephen Colbert is an orthodox Catholic. (Seriously. A Joe Judgmental appeared in my comment box last year, attacking my claim that the host of The Daily Show is Catholic.) And the critiques from Moms trying to validate their own parenting choices. I really couldn't care less if you believe my use of Pampers is single-handedly destroying the planet. But having to expend energy deleting such an eco-rude comment is energy that I'd rather spend driving my non-hybrid to Costco to buy another pallet of disposables, a case of non-compact fluorescent light bulbs and a side of beef.

So if I know you IRL as they type, you'll be getting an invite. If I know you through blogs or message boards well enough that you are a friend of mine on facebook or you are on my blogroll, send me an email or leave a comment below with your email address and I'll put you on the 'list'.

As for the rest of the blogosphere who may have been following the Heroes, I apologize but hope you understand. It's time to reveal the Heroes' true identities... but only to those who already know.

Foto Friday - Party Pics

Happy 6th Birthday, Bittyman!

At Six Years Old, Bittyman:

• Has brought home two perfect report cards, "excelling in all academic areas... reading and writing at an advanced level and articulates information very well..."
• Has 100% average on his weekly spelling tests.
• Earned the role of "Bug Master of Ceremonies" in next month's Kindergarten play.
• Never. Stops. Talking.
• Favorite movie is Star Wars.
  
• Has lost his bottom two teeth.
• Is a Baltimore Ravens fan (our only obvious parenting mistake thus far).
• Can swim the length of our community pool.
• Bowls a 220... on the Wii.
• Weighs 45 pounds.
• Operates the computer almost as well as Daddy.
  
• Has been riding a two-wheeler for a few months.
  
• Would eat brats, corn-on-the-cob and strawberry shortcake for dinner every night if I served it.
  
• Loves all things Legos, Army and Playmobile.
• But loves Ittyboy more than all his toys combined and recently asked me, "Mom, if Dad loves you, why doesn't he fertilize your eggs so I can have another baby brother?"

(Did I mention he's only turning 6?)

Happy Birthday, Bittyman. It was a blink ago that you were just a bitty baby. And now you are an amazing boy with a heart overflowing with love and a brain that is bursting with potential. I am so blessed to be your Mom.

Dear VP of Marketing for Build-A-Bear

You are welcome to use this photo of Ittyboy in your advertising. It was taken by me this past Saturday at our local Build-A-Bear store. Not only will this adorable little face undoubtedly sell thousands of your stuffed animal friends, but Itty's outfit perfectly matches your brand colors.



Itty requests for his modeling fee a Build-A-Party for himself, his big brother Bittyman, and 15 of his friends and cousins. (You're getting off cheap - only 3 of his 23 cousins will be in town anytime soon.) Each guest will receive one stuffed animal friend and complete outfit for said friend, including appropriate accessories.

For my photographer fee, I request enough Build-A-Bear staff coverage at said party so myself, my SIL and my Mom friends can go upstairs to the mall Starbucks and enjoy one hour of child-free socialization. (And if we're not at Starbucks look for us at the Chevys Fresh Mex bar.)

Sincerely,
Diva Mom Vicki

Wordless Wednesday ~ Party Pics

Wordless Wednesday

Happy 2nd Birthday, Ittyboy!

April 17, 2007

April, 2008

April, 2009

Please Pray for the Repose of the Soul of Dr. Thomas Dillon

Yesterday we were devastated to learn that our sister-in-law's father was tragically killed in a car accident in Ireland:

In Memoriam: Tom Dillon, President of Thomas Aquinas College

Our prayers are with Christine, her husband (Dan's brother) Tom, their 5 children and the rest of the Dillon family.

Happy Easter... Tuesday!

It was a whirlwind Holy Week, Triduum and Easter. In the past 7 days:

• Christopher was diagnosed with an ear and sinus infection.
• Our vacuum cleaner broke.
• A water leak appeared in the wall between the water manablock and the boy's bedroom, thus flooding their bedroom. (OK, so it 'appeared' only after Dan tried to anchor a bookcase into the wall... but the darn stud finder thought that pipe was a stud!)
  
• A tire separated on our Nissan Altima and needed immediate replacement. (Thank the Lord for Costco tire service.) Then the Altima failed the state smog test. (The car is being dropped off at the dealer tomorrow. Pray for a cheap fix, please.)
  
• I tripped coming down the stairs rolling my ankle, severely bruising my knee and broke or sprained my middle toe (don't know for sure - haven't had time for an x-ray).
• I undertook a frantic search for flat, comfortable (and affordable) shoes I could stand in for countless hours of cantoring. (Sadly, I had already bought the cutest heels to match my Easter dress!)
  
• Discovered our Wii broke after I busted my foot and needed a way to occupy the boys inside since I could hardly walk, let alone carry or run after a sprinting Ittyboy out in public.
• Dan played the funeral Mass for a family friend who passed away after a long illness.
  
• I cantored for the Good Friday service, Easter Vigil and 2 Easter Morning Masses (plus attended several rehearsals earlier in the week).

In spite of all the stress, we had an absolutely wonderful Easter. Probably even more meaningful than had we not had these small crosses to bear. As I venerated the cross after the Passion service on Good Friday, my 'problems' were immediately put into perspective. The Easter Vigil was especially moving hearing the Exsultet beautifully chanted by a Dominican Priest who serves our Diocese, regularly presiding at the Shrine where both Dan and I are musicians. And it was a thrill to have brass, strings and timpani in addiction to the usual organ/piano accompany me for the Easter morning Masses.

My Lenten journey was very fruitful. I gave up a lot of 'noise' in my life - all talk radio, FOX News channel, reading political blogs - and limited my time online. After my initial panic of being so disconnected, it was amazing was how much my overall stress level decreased. (Not to mention how happy the Heroes were since Mommy wasn't ignoring them to facebook , how clean my house became and how many times that dusty Bible sitting on my nightstand was actually read.)

I'm going to continue giving up most of the 'noise' I gave up during Lent... with the exception of Glenn Beck. I really missed watching Glenn. And I will be blogging more often again. (But if you want the most immediate news on the Heroes, friend me on facebook if you haven't already!)

Our family hopes everyone had a Blessed Easter Sunday! Remember, the Easter season lasts 50 days - which is a good thing since Bittyman just reminded me that we forgot to dye Easter eggs!

Foto Friday - Daddy's Birthday

No Foolin' - Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Foto Friday - Happy Spring!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Menu Plan Monday

Monday: Pizza Casserole (New Recipe from Taste of Home), Caesar Salad
Tuesday: Baked Chicken, Roasted Red Potatoes, Green Beans
Wednesday: Crock-Pot Mexican Chili, Veggie Quesadillas
Thursday: Leftover Buffet
Friday: Parish Fish Fry
Saturday: Easy meal for the boys. (Dan has steady gigs every Saturday afternoon and evening.)
Sunday: Weather-willing, GRILLING!

Here's a great tip I read on another Mommy blog: Put out cut-up veggies and dip for an appetizer as another source of veggies/way-of-getting-children-out-from-under-your-feet-while-cooking. My boys love anything they can 'dip' so this has really worked well.

Check out I'm an Organizing Junkie for more Menu Plans. Also surf over to my favorite new cooking blog, The Pioneer Woman Cooks. It's full of recipes with step-by-step pictures for those of us who took Wood Shop instead of Home Ec. and need a little help with our kitchen skills. (But hey, I can make one cool soda-can lamp!)

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Foto Friday

Coming soon: An explanation of why I stopped blogging for New Year's and why, for Lent (and beyond), I've decided to start blogging again.

Monday Meme

Yes, I'm alive (thanks, Tom, for asking)! I have a blog post about my blogging absence which I'll post soon. Until then, this is a meme that has taken facebook by storm:

25 Random Things Meme

1) I owe my family to the gal who tagged me for this meme, Charlene. She was supposed to embark on the Carnival cruise ship Sensation as the Production Singer but got cast in the National Tour of Miss Saigon and told Carnival I was available to take her place. I flew out to the Sensation less than a week later then after 3 months there was transferred to the Carnival Fantasy where I met Dan who was the orchestra pianist. Thanks, Charlene!

2) I am a die hard Washington Redskins and NFL football fan. I can hold my own against any guy when discussing football. My parents recently sent me my 37-year old, size 2T, Redskins coat that Ittyboy will be sporting next season.

3) Dan is a Green Bay Packers fan. Had he been a Cowboys fan we would probably not be married. I hate the Cowboys that much.

4) Dan is the 2nd of 14 children (12 boys, 2 girls). He was the first of his siblings to get married. No pressure there.

5) I'm seriously thinking of giving up facebook for Lent. I may be addicted.

6) I suffer from panic attacks. So far I've been able to control them without meds. Stress and clutter will trigger them.

7) I've traveled down the Amazon River in a canoe.

8) The first apartment Dan and I lived in caught on fire. (Just 2 months after getting married.) Miraculously, even though the 4 apartments behind us and the 2 next to us were destroyed, ours suffered only minor smoke damage.

9) For years after that fire I slept in sweats with my shoes and a flashlight under my bed. (The fire occurred in the middle of the night.)

10) Bittyman's middle name is Michael. Ittyboy's is Gabriel. Archangels are awesome.

11) Dan is a type 1 (juvenile) diabetic. Dan has only had one life-threatening diabetic episode in his life. It occurred when I was 8 months pregnant with Bittyman. I fully believe Dan's Guardian Angel woke me up out of a dead sleep to find Dan lying comatose next to me due to a dangerously low blood sugar. I was able to flip Dan over and administer a glucose shot before the paramedics arrived.

The only permanent damage from that incident affected the part of Dan's brain that reminds him to check the pockets of all pants before putting them in the washer. Thus why we will all be sporting M&M chocolate-stained clothing as of today. (Ittyboy likes M&M's and, apparently, saves them in his pockets.)

12) I always unload my grocery cart by where it does in my house - fridge stuff, freezer stuff, pantry stuff, household stuff - so the checker is forced to bag those items together, thus making it easier for me to unload when I get home.

13) Counting babies currently in utero, I have 23 nieces and nephews. I keep track of them with an Excel spreadsheet.

14) I really want to get a tattoo but I'm terrified of needles.

15) When I was in 2nd grade I wanted to be an oceanographer.

16) I will not wear open-toed shoes unless I've had a pedicure.

17) I make jewelry and have sold several of my pieces.

18) Often when I'm sleeping I will put one arm straight up in the air and then rub it with my other hand. It must be genetic - both Bittyman and Ittyboy do the same thing while sleeping.

19) I'd love to go to cooking school so I could cook like the contestants on Top Chef. I'm still in awe over a Quick Fire challenge in season 2: "Create an amuse bouche dish using $10 of ingredients from a vending machine." Genius! Most nights I struggle to come up with a meal using all the ingredients in my kitchen!

20) I can still do the splits.

21) I have dark brown eyes and dark brown hair but both of my boys are blond with blue eyes (like Dan as a child). I had a stranger tell me I was doing Bittyman a disservice by not admitting he was adopted.

22) I got 3 crowns over the summer. Paying for them was much more painful then getting them.

23) My confirmation saint is St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.

24) My little brother named one of his daughters Victoria. Her nickname is 'Tori' which is much cuter than 'Vicki'.

25) I used to be adamantly against cosmetic surgery. That was before 2 pregnancies, 2 C-sections and nursing for 45 months (and still counting). I'm back to my pre-Bittyman weight but if I had the $$$ and there was no risk, I'd get my pre-baby body back in time for my 40th birthday in June. (No amount of working out is going to lift everything back to where it started!) But I'd settle for ZOOM teeth whitening.

Consider yourself tagged if you haven't already done this on facebook!

Friday Fun

Most Unlikely New Year's Resolutions

The Biggest Ball Drops of '08

Wondering what to do with all those beautiful Christmas cards you received? Send them here: St. Jude's Ranch for Children Card Recycling Program

And this is how we do it around here: Keep Christmas Alive Through the Epiphany!

Happy New Year 2009!

That High?

Barack is very disappointed with me!


I only scored 20 on the Obama Test