Happy Birthday

To me, that is. I know it's a little odd that I'm writing my own birthday post, but I have to share the fact that my children genuinely surprised me this morning. Sure, they said "Happy Birthday" when I woke them up at 6:30, and Fred had a card and gift sitting on the counter waiting for me. It was this that I didn't expect...


That's right! A birthday cake at 7:00 a.m. They had hidden it in their closet, and when I called them downstairs for breakfast - VOILA! I know my mother in-law helped them out last night, but it was pretty impressive that they were able to surprise me. I also, loved seeing the expression on their faces as they realized that they really did pull off their plan.

Hope the rest of the day is as great as it started out!

(And in case anyone is wondering - No, I didn't choose their perfectly coordinated clothing)

Fall in New England

Sunday night Fred and I drove up to Lexington for the evening. Yes, without children -- thank you mom & dad! Anyway, the hotel we stayed at, had bikes to borrow. Sounded like a great plan.


I haven't been on a bike in at least 15 years, and let me tell you -- it was exhausting. I can't believe I used to bike everywhere as a child, and I don't really think I complained about it. Oh well, despite having to stop more than a few times and walk up hills (especially on the way back), we had so much fun, and the scenery along the Minute Man Trail in Lexington was breathtaking.




See what I mean, first my child cooks, then I get away for an evening without children, and in two days we're leaving for Disney World -- Feast or Famine.

Feast or Famine

The title refers to my blogging style, not necessarily to this post. It seems that either a ton of noteworthy stuff happens, or nothing -- seriously nothing -- happens for weeks.


Anyway, Saturday Alex became "chef Alessandro" for a day. As part of his scouting requirements, he had to help with a service project. Each week the members of our congregation provide lunch/dinner for the military men and women who would miss their mealtime by attending church. Alex made a pumpkin dessert that was super delicious -- we forgot to take a picture, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

Another requirement was to make a nutritious meal for your family. I figured since I was cooking with a child, I might as well go all out and help him fulfill both requirements on the same day. On the menu: Chicken Spaghetti, tossed salad, and french bread. He did a great job and even set the table by himself.

A few more training sessions, and maybe he'll be able to fly solo -- my retirement is just around the corner.

Miracle Product

Okay, I love Thursdays! The people we carpool with drive both ways on Thursdays. It's only the evenings that get a little tricky with soccer and boy scouts, but I have all day to prepare for that.

Well this Thursday was even better! Alex is away on an overnight field trip, and Domenic's soccer practice was canceled - SCORE! An evening with 2 children and no chauffeur duties -- it doesn't get much better than that. I could sit around doing nothing for the entire evening -- Mia might even get a much needed bath; she has a tendency to equate food with hair product.

Just as I was getting into my do nothing groove, my neighbor came to my door. Her babysitter was unavailable and she had a meeting -- her children are awesome, so of course I said I would babysit. I could still do nothing, right? Wrong -- or so I thought.

All of a sudden, 4 children who normally play well together were all staring at me and asking what they could do -- are you kidding? Mia and Sydney, the two little ones, were using me to hold every toy they didn't want the other one to play with. Pretty soon I had my arms full of Buzz, Woody, doggies, balls, etc. all making noise and giving me one colossal headache.

Then, in a moment of desperation...brilliance!


A simple box of Play-Doh kept them occupied for an hour -- no kidding. In fact, when dad came to pick up his charges, I sent him home alone. Everyone was having a great time and I was free to cook dinner in peace. Now it's bedtime, and I can go on with my plans to do nothing!


Gotta love Play-Doh!

Back to School

I have to say, summer ended a little too soon for me. Call me crazy, but I would have loved another couple of weeks to just be lazy. Alex and Dom haven't even been in school for a whole week, and I'm already exhausted!

Nothing really blogworthy has happened lately, and I'm too tired to even think about a clever anectdote, but I did want to post the obligatory first day of school pic before graduation day in June.

And, as promised, here are some oompa loompa pictures from the summer.

Where Have I Been?

I know, I know. I was going to blog on a regular basis, and as an avid reader of many blogs, I hate when the sites I frequent aren't updated at least weekly. But I am in summer mode. We've been doing so many things the past couple of months. Here's a little taste:
Domenic's baseball season finally ended mid-July. We got some great pictures at his last game. Click on this one to see that toothless smile - Love it!

Went to Mayflower Beach with our neighbors and Vinny's family. Anyone who lives in New England should experience this beach at least once -- tons of sand, sandbars, shallow water -- such a great beach for the kids. Here are Domenic, Ben, Alex, & Vinny after we buried them alive -- I promise, it was their idea.

Domenic and Alex had their annual piano recital. Dom one the trophy for most improved -- you would have thought he won gold in Beijing. They both did a great job, and now we can finally move one to new pieces. If I never hear Fur Elise or the song from the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, I will be forever grateful.

We also went to Maine for a week -- well almost a week. We came home a little early to escape the rain. Despite the weather, the kids still had a great time.

They loved doing "back flips" off of the trampoline. I would call them back flops, and they probably would have been excruciatingly painful without the life vest padding.
Playing in the sandbox was fun for all. Alex dug a hole which later provided Mia and Rocco with several minutes of entertainment.
The whole crew stopping for a moment to take a picture with Uncle Mike.See what I mean? Rocco and Mia are having a blast in the hole built by Alex.

And to cap of our eventful summer--
No, we didn't make a trip to the turkey farm to pick out our Thanksgiving dinner early. That's our back yard.We don't call this site "Down on the Farm" for nothing! No siree!! You never know what kind of wildlife will show up in the back yard -- oh sure, lots of people have squirrels and bunnies, but not everyone gets a visit from a family of turkeys.

Well, that's our summer in a nutshell. The boys did just finish being in Willy Wonka, the Musical. They were fabulous Oompa Loompas, and I did take some pictures. I just haven't taken them off of my camera yet, so those pictures will have to wait for another post.

Fourth Fever!

I survived another Fourth of July in Bristol. Don't get me wrong -- I love it. The carnival, the parade, the nightly concerts, the cookouts, the fireworks, etc. It's just exhausting. For those of you who don't live in Bristol, the Fourth of July festivities begin on Flag Day. The season of celebrating this country's independence lasts almost as long as the Christmas Season -- think of how you feel on December 26, and you get an idea of how exhausting being Patriotic can be.

Although - truth be told, I had it pretty easy this year. Fred worked the night of the ball (yes, there is a 4th of July ball) so we weren't obligated to go. We only went to one concert. My in-laws took the boys to the carnival. I didn't even catch the fireworks this year. And, as Domenic pointed out, we didn't decorate. I think we may be the only house in town that isn't sporting patriotic bunting. Oh well, Mia had a different red/white/blue ensemble for every day of the week -- doesn't decorating your children count for something?

Here's Fred broadcasting the parade in HD!

And here's one of Mia, sparkler headband and all (so cute!). And Domenic watching with anticipation - little does he know he has to sit there for 3 more hours.

And finally -- Fred took the boys to tour the USS Widbey, a ship that is docked for the weekend in the bay. It's a pretty impressive ship, and all 3 boys thoroughly enjoyed the tour. Grandpa, you would have loved it.

I know I said the Fourth is over -- but as I'm writing this I can hear the "grand finale" of a fireworks display in the next town. Okay, maybe tomorrow the Fourth will be finished.