A little humor for the holidays....
Note to my loyal readers...when you spontaneously take a holiday photo without one kid, make sure it's one who does NOT know how to use PhotoShop. :-)
We wish you love, peace, good health and much joy this holiday season, regardless of what you celebrate. Celebrate life!
This year, my daughter and son-in-law hosted Thanksgiving. It was so odd to me, not to be the one cooking. Tinkerbelle did a wonderful job of preparing the meal despite a week of worries about it. The day was very nice and we enjoyed the company of my son-in-law's mother nad aunt as well; very sweet ladies. Tink and I decided to alternate holidays so I'll be preparing Christmas dinner in a couple of weeks. We're trying to bring family togetherness to the forefront and teach all the kids about traditions new and old. I hope they carry on! We were blessed to all be together and we hope that you and your loved ones had blessings to be thankful for also.
Most of my crew....(minus Miss K) on Thanksgiving
Two Girls, A Guy and A Holiday...or...Foreshadowing for Newlyweds
(my "bookend" daughters and my son-in-law on Thanksgiving)
PEEKA.....
BOO!!
A Very Special Day
Last Sunday, we had Miss Kingsley baptised. We are so fortunate and blessed to have a dear friend who is a pastor and I cannot tell you how sweet she is. Time passes sometimes for quite awhile before we see eachother or even talk on the phone,but she is forever in our hearts; we love you Donna! She has not only renewed our vows a year after we were married, she has baptised all three of our boys and now the Princess. Each ceremony has been unique and beautiful. This one was unique in that it was Miss Kingsley's Godfather's birthday, but also because of all we had to be thankful for that day for various reasons. Some were reunited after many years, one was here after very nearly losing their life last year, another is expecting, and for others this marked a new beginning and part of a healing process. Not in attendance, but mentioned often was the one Godmother who could not be present,but was dearly missed by all. And this one beautiful little girl brought it all together for all of us. We are abundantly blessed and grateful.
Kingsley has 3 Godmothers and The Godfather (Rob, our very own Dawn here in "blogland", Maribeth and not present, Lisa)
The lovely and talented Donna Cunio & Eli
Perhaps being born the day of Pope JohnPaul's funeral and bearing the same name is prophetic?
Me, my aunt Michele and Kingsley Shelly and I are like sisters; we're only a few years apart; and we're so much alike. We don't see eachother near enough,but in so many ways she's like my other half. LOVE YOU!! 
It's not autumn in New England without apples & pumpkins
Hmmm...apple or juice?
Quick, where's the arrow???
A little boy's dream yard.....
The Newlyweds....tradition carries on....
Time for reflection.....
THE WEDDING
No actual photos of the ceremony since I was busy consoling Nikol through it. I was seated at the front with the parents which was very nice,but unfortunatley, Nikol couldn't see me so he had a bit of a meltdown (sobbing) so I had to sit in the back of the room with him. Poor kid, uprooted from the only home he knew and 4 days travelling cross-country, then put in a room full of dozens of people; too much for this sweet 2yo boy. Nevertheless, here are my beautiful kids!
My 3 lovely daughters
(yes that's the bride in yellow)
Mama & Tinkerbelle
Mama's Six Pack
(no calories and no hangover-the girls all changed clothes after the ceremony)
The Journey Home
It doesn't matter how much you miss something or someone. It doesn't matter what you think is the "right" choice. Until you walk away, until you make the choice, you never really know how you feel. As much as we missed Boston and our friends and family, the move back here was one of the hardest things I've ever done. I thought I'd feel exhilarated like when we went to CO, but instead I felt an emptiness. The same sense of loss we felt being away from everyone here, we now felt for everyone there. So what is a heartsick girl to do??? I figure these are my options:
1. win REALLY BIG in the lottery so I can come and go from here to there on a whim whenever I want to and have nice homes in both locations. And Lisa said we need to include a private jet so we don't have to pay the airline; she and David both offered to get their pilot license .
2. cut apart the U.S. so that I can smoosh CO and MA together and it will only be a couple of hours drive from one to the other. C'mon, Rhode Island is small, will anyone really notice if we move it a bit??? ::::grin::::
3. become Samantha Stevens and go back and forth by twitching my nose.
So far it's looking like winning the lottery is a viable possibility! And just so's ya know, I've got the winning MegaMillions ticket in my wallet right now.
Since pictures often speak louder than words, here are a few from our journey home...
It began with a few smiles through tears in CO
We rode a pony in Nebraska
We ate well at Flying J's across the country (thanks Dad!)
In Iowa, we learned what the term "Mini Me" really means
In Illinois there was time for "brotherly love"
The Master Plan
For years now I've adopted this as my personal motto in life: Everything happens for a reason and when the time is right for us to know, we will.
I even had that imprinted on our checks! Ok so I'm soft, that's not news.
What IS news is that I have come to know the "reason" for our move back home. The easy on the surface answer is to help out my MIL. Now though there is more. About 2wks ago my new son-in-law (wow did I just say that???) found out that his mother has only about 6mos to live. She has a disease that there is no help for; not sure what it is. She is only 50; he 24 and the youngest of all his sibs who are spread out around the country. My heart breaks for him and his family and I hardly even know him. I thought it was amusing that he calls me "Mom" already,but now I wonder if maybe I'll be that fill-in for when his real mom is no longer here in person? I will do my best to be there for him.
And if that wasn't enough, on Friday while we anxiously awaited news on the new baby, my MIL received a call from her best friend. The friend, who I have known for 15yrs had just been given the news that she has a cancer for which there is no cure and whose time is fleeting. These two women have been best friends since they were teens and are only 60yrs old. I think of Lisa and me, best friends since we were 12 and how devastated one of us would be without the other. This move is going to be hard enough I'm sure,but at least a move can be temporary and there are vacations etc. Heck, we made a pact ages ago that we have to grow old together and die at the same time! My MIL is beside herself and to say that this loss will turn her upside down is not an understatement. I just hope and pray that we can give her the love and support she'll need when the time comes and that God will give her strength to carry on, I'm sure it's what her friend would want.
Sorry to be so somber tonight, this has just been weighing heavy on my mind.
It's a BOY!!!!!!!!!
I'm happy to say that my BIL & SIL are proud new parents to their baby born on Friday. My poor SIL was in labor for 36hrs after her water broke. We were all so worried; family there and all of us out here. Finally she had a c/s and all is well. Our new nephew weighed 10.7lbs more hugs for my SIL for trying to push him out naturally! He's cute as a button though and ironically is the same size at birth that Princess K is now at 4mos old!! Can you imagine? I picked her up and told D. that I can't imagine giving birth to a baby that size. She's a real peanut though for her age. We're so happy for them though and when D. called yesterday to convey our good wishes he said his brother was thrilled. D. is 15yrs older than this brother so it was a really big deal to know that he's a dad himself now. We can't wait to meet our new nephew and congratulate R & B. They will be a wonderful family and have been truly blessed.
Moving....at a snail's pace
To borrow a line from one of the world's great writers, Mark Twain let me say this: Rumors of my being a great packer/organizer have been greatly exaggerated.
We're leaving in five days and here is where we're at. A livingroom that looks like a bomb went off:
A garage with not nearly enough packed boxes in it and other things precariously balanced that should not be:
And two baby girls who are less than thrilled with little play space and the fact that we cannot hold them every minute of the day when there is work to be done:
Let's just say that there is not alot of progress to be made with five kids underfoot. Three aren't capable of helping (well N. could,but is more of a hinderance than a help at only 2yo) and two can't seem to stop fighting long enough to get the job done. And admittedly, I'm not pushing for much because it's less aggravation for me. They're playing now as you see,but in all fairness that's because Qbert did pack up most of their room.
The trailer will be here Wed. night and we'll load the furniture we're bringing (which is very little) and boxes into it. The next two days will something of an indoor campground as we eat, sleep, play on the floors. Hmm...should be interesting. The good thing I guess is that we didn't move in with a whole lot and we're also purging a whole lot of what we have. Freecycle and Craigslist have been lifesavers lately!
The Triptik has been read and reviewed by the three of us old enough to read and understand it. We've checked out http://www.roadsideamerica.com for tips on sights to check out along the way from here to Boston. Nothing spectacular jumped out at us so we'll just wing it and see what we see. Each of the boys has a backpack stocked with a disposable camera, books, coloring books, puzzle books, crayons and a sports bottle. The coolers will be stocked with various sundries. We also stocked up on dry goods like crackers, cereal etc. It would be too pricey to eat out every meal for 4 days so we'll bring what we can, find grocery stores along the way for incidentals and eat out one meal a day. D. and I are looking forward to finding good homemade hearty meals at little places along our route a la Alton Brown on his series Feasting On Asphalt or Guy Fieri and his Diners Drive-Ins and Dives. Love watching those shows! And yes I'm a big enough dork as my kids would say to have checked out their sites and wrote down names and addresses for the ones they visited that will be on our route.
Along the way we plan to take many photos, some videos and keep a journal. I say PLAN because we all know how things can sometimes not turn out the way we hope. I'll share what we have when we get settled.
For now it's back to laundry, boxes and duct tape all calling my name. Maybe I can at least get one packed while the baby girls are sleeping.
Two steps closer to moving home.....
Tonight I got an email from the talented lady who custom-made K's baptism gown. The baptism is less than a month away!! She made a lovely bonnet to match the gown and I'm still on the hunt for the perfect booties. I will find them, yes I will! 
And tonight we brought the kids to Borders so that they could each pick up a book to put in the backpacks that will be filled with things to keep them occupied on our journey home. Fear not, there will be other goodies as well!
Saturday had it's own "First" too....
(ok I'm in it, now when do I get that yummy stuff that KeeKee gets?)
Ok sleeping on my tummy....liking that, but "tummy time?" Not so much...
Friday was a busy day!
First I dressed in blue and daisies because it was my oldest sister Mary's wedding day. Her colors were yellow and blue and her favorite flower is daisies...
My Daughter Is A Bride...
Yes, today among a small group of family and friends, Mary said her "I Do" and is now a happily married woman. They had a civil ceremony and she sweetly asked Gabriella to be her Maid of Honor" which thrilled Gabriella to no end!
The boys and I watched the clock all morning as the time for her nuptials approached. We called her yesterday and today to wish her well. I told the boys that if she didn't call by a certain time I'd worry because I figured that she'd call me when they were 'official.' David called on his lunch break and we chatted for a bit, then my call waiting clicked in and it was Mary. I was so excited that I told David and I think I hung up on him before saying goodbye! LOL Her first words were, "Hi Mama, I am finally a married woman!" She sounded SO happy. Of course I couldn't wait to see pix and she delightedly sent me dozens. I just wish I could have been there. When we return home in August, we'll have the reception with ALL the family & friends, everyone will be dressed up, they will renew their vows before us all, do the formal dances etc. Only three more weeks! I can't wait to see her and I'm looking forward to meeting my new 'son' too.
Now without further adieu.....
My MIL,Gabriella, Mary & Jonathon
My beautiful big girls, they look more alike the older they get.
Only 3 more days....
And our beautiful daughter will be a bride. This is dh's cousin on the left in the red necklace and Tinkerbelle on the right. They're so pretty and great young ladies. It doesn't seem possible that only a few years ago they were playing with dolls. Now they're off to nursing school together in the fall and one will be a married woman. SPROING!!!! Here's another grey hair. 
YOU oughtta be in pictures!
Or so my lovely oldest son tells me. I'm always the one behind the camera and for 16yrs you would think that there would be more than a handful of photos of me with my 6 kids right? Wrong. Well, today he turned the camera on me. Sunburn, no makeup, frizzy hair, blah clothes be damned. At least he caught me while I was having fun and laughing! LOL I'll make sure to get some family shots at the wedding reception next month stay tuned!
Hi there! See this little mouse friend of mine? 
If you see her, tell her I'm looking for her
Thanks!
Countdown to ..... LIFE!
1. Mailing lucky penny for bride to wear in * 3* days
2. Selling furniture to prepare for move in *26* days
3. Design for baptism gown to be made to wear in *33* days
4. Wedding cake topper bought for nuptials is *34* days
5. Some clothes & supplies bought for school in *45* days
Time to sit around and think about any of this ZERO!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Remember to breathe.....
Something I'm not great at these days, life is so hectic lately.
New nephew coming, moving, baptism, wedding reception, first days of school...did I miss anything?
The move back to Boston is on. David has given his notice at work, I've notified the schools and pediatrician back home. There's paperwork to be filled out, boxes to pack (though when we moved here we never completely UNpacked which is good I guess). Freecycle loves me lately because I've had so many things to give away. You don't realize how much you've accumulated in two years until you find that you can't fit it into a 12x6 trailer LOL. That's ok, we can replace what we need when we get back there if necessary. I'm glad we don't have alot of furniture here, gives us an excuse to go back to the auctions! Oh how we miss those. And IKEA is out there now; we've yet to be anywhere near one so that that should be an interesting place to check out.
Besides the move I've been busy helping Mary with details for her wedding reception. I can't believe that in less than two weeks I'll be someone's :::gasp::: MOTHER-IN-LAW!! (note to Jon: I've always told my kids that nobody will ever be good enough for them so prove me wrong! LOL). Between the wedding and now nursing school, I don't think I've ever heard her happier. And isn't that what we all want for our kids? School starts for Mary, Gabs and Qbert in the first week of Sept. (three different schools mind you) and then nursery school for Eli the second week.
I've also been busy planning K's baptism. Granted, it's not as grand a day as her wedding may one day be, but it's certainly special. I've been working for weeks at finding her the perfect gown and finally found a great lady who will custom make one for us. For the last week I've been working late at night trying to design it and it's not easy. We didn't have our own gowns to pass on to our children so I started a tradition of each child having their own to pass along to their own kids or nieces and nephews. Each one was specially chosen as the perfect one for them. Some are fancier some are simpler. As I told Kiki though, this is the first of three important gowns she'll wear (next being her prom and then her wedding) so I want it to be just right. I was searching and searching for a cross for her too,but one of her Godmothers without even knowing it, took care of that which was so sweet. She is blessed to have THREE Godmothers who are all very dear friends. Plus we have out of state family who will be with us for the day and for Mary's wedding reception the next day. LOTS going on! Oh and did I mention that my youngest brother (he's actually my BIL but he feels more like a little brother) and his wife are having their first baby any time now too? I can't wait to hear that he has arrived. Another baby to love.
Yes, life is chaos right now. And yet at the root of it all is a family to love and what could be better than that?
Is she LIVE or is she PORCELAIN??
I keep hearing that she looks like a porcelain doll in this photo, I have to agree. It's rare that she's not smiling,but that's ok I still think she's cute. Not biased am I ? LOL
Maybe the best toy ever!
I had seen these Glo-E babies somewhere, an ad maybe and thought it was some gimicky toy. On July 4th (ha ha, really though!) Quinn and I were in WallyWorld buying diapers and passed the toy dept. I wanted to look for a GloWorm doll and came across this. Well, wouldn't you know, we actually thought it was cute so we took a chance and bought it for Kingsley. He picked the puppy instead of the bear because he LOVES plush dogs. Steph, he's got about half the ones that BAB makes I think; it's all he ever makes there LOL Anyway, Kingsley LOVES it!! I will admit that I had to change the batteries tonight after only a week,but it's worth it. In fact I realized last night that the batteries were going because when I looked over at the crib, it was red then white red then white and seeing that red glow in a dark room made it look demonic LOL When I put her to bed tonight she looked over at the puppy and it wouldn't glow right so I pulled it out to change the batteries ands he started crying and that turned into screaming (odd for her). I raced around looking for batteries and thankfully Daddy had some so I put them in quickly and brought the puppy back up to the crib. Within SECONDS she was quiet and sound asleep within a couple of minutes! She just loves this little guy. The glow is not as alarmingly bright as it looks here and it doesn't make any sounds which I like. It just has this gentle change from color to color (about 6 or 8 different ones I think). All I know is it gently lulls her to sleep. I hope this company stays in business for awhile, but maybe on the safe side I better buy a backup! :-) To see Glo-E Babies puppy and his friends check out their website at www.Glo-E.com
Hi Everyone!
Here I am 14wks old and feeling ducky!
(is it me or did Mommy go too far with the duck theme here?). I'm getting bigger every day and I'm teething now too. That must sound funny 'cause Mommy keeps telling people that she had 4 teeth at 4mos old. I just know that I like that cold colorful toy that she lets me play with. Pretty soon we're going to be going home. Not sure where that is since I only know here, but my brothers and sisters seem pretty excited. It will be fun to finally meet my Nana,big sister Mary and all these other people I keep hearing about; especially my great-grammie because I was born on her birthday and they say I have her color hair and eyes. Sounds like alot to look forward to and all I have to do is smile and look cute....it's like a deal!
Love,
Kingsley XOXOXO
