The Annual Tree Day

As is our family tradition, we were off to hunt for a perfect Christmas tree the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We found the perfect tree for our living room and the cutest littlest tree for our landing upstairs near the boys' bedrooms. Our home is ready to be decorated with holiday cheer!

The Gala

When I was considering volunteering to chair Aidan's school's Fall Gala, I knew I couldn't do it without help since I have never been in charge of a fundraiser of this magnitude. (or, of any type of fundraiser really.) I decided to convince my Aunt Cathleen we should be co-chairs. I told her it would be fun. (I may have overstated that just a bit.) I also convinced her it would be a perfect end to her last year as a parent at Nativity since her last child graduates onto high school this spring.

I was so grateful she agreed. I was also grateful that the rest of our families stepped up just as willingly to help us with our duties. My family and friends gave generously of themselves to help us make it a success. Without (much of a) complaint, my aunts, uncles and I hosted a gift gathering party at a local restaurant to collect donations for the silent auction. My Aunt Nancy organized a raffle for a huge television. Chris created digital signage for the event. Everyone attended and many family members were also put to work during the gala. (And if they weren't working, they were bidding left and right on anything available at the auction. My mom and Aunt Linda took home some impressive hauls. My mom even took one for the team when she bid on a vase donated (and possibly re gifted several hundred times) by my grandmother.)


It was truly a family affair. While I was more stressed than I thought possible for most of the planning and evening of the event, I was grateful, once again, for my family and their constant support. I even loved talking with my fellow co-chair my Aunt Cathleen approximately one hundred times a day.

Our Nativity logo martini luge (which was probably the biggest hit of the evening):

A pre-event family planning meeting to discuss duties:

Chris was assigned the management of the Blizzard of Bucks with a trusty assistant, my cousin Liam:

The co-chairs, breathing a sigh of relief that it is almost over!

My Aunt Linda testing the Blizzard of Bucks:

My grandfather, the card shark dealer, who was assigned a Black Jack table for our Beat the Dealer game. He was quite the hit with the guests, complete with his playing card tie and dealer outfit!

Business at our Beat the Dealer game stayed steady through out the evening:

Nana and I getting in some dancing to the DJ in between sips of our cosmos!

And a picture I wish I had, but don't - a photograph of the end of the night, when the last two people there are my Aunt Cathleen and me, and she has decided she must have all of the balloons left at the Gala for my cousins' Patrick and Nicole's birthday party the next day. We couldn't fit them through the door and finally we both collapsed in a heap, stuck in the middle of a hundred or so balloons, laughing so hard we cried.

Surviving November

Going into November, I knew if I could make it to November 21st it would be a miracle. A stressful month stretched out before me, taunting me with a packed schedule and overwhelming responsibilities.

Chris's work schedule had him out of town for the first two weeks of the month. His second trip overlapped with my girls' NYC birthday trip, which required we find back up child care. In the midst of all this traveling mayhem, I had big volunteering responsibilities to fulfill. In a moment of temporary insanity (I have alot of these), I volunteered to co-chair the largest fundraiser for Aidan's school, the Fall Gala, set for November 20th.

I honestly had no idea how much work is involved with chairing a fundraiser of this magnitude. It was more work than I could have possibly imagined. I juggled too much and neglected both my children and my job in order to make it work.

Thankfully, it worked. It went off without (much of) a hitch and life returned to normal on November 21st.

I was woozy and exhausted and just plain ol' wiped out the morning after the Gala. But I was also relieved to have survived November. Things were set to return to calm or as calm as it gets in our house.

But instead of embracing calm and peace, we opted to run right out and get a puppy. Yes, temporary insanity, indeed.

Because nothing says calm and peace like a brand new puppy, right? How can you resist that face?

The boys have been begging for a dog forever, but it has intensified in the last month. It culminated with Brennan announcing that all he wanted for both his birthday and Christmas is a puppy. He also insisted his birthday party invites, cake and favors be dog themed since all he likes is dogs. (picture this being said with the sweetest, saddest face of a little boy denied the only thing in this world truly guaranteed to bring him happiness.)

It chipped away at my resolve to wait on the dog issue. It didn't help that we attended the Catwalk for Charity event this year and fell in love with the cutest little golden retriever puppy being auctioned. I adored that sweet little puppy, but couldn't fathom the nice, hefty five thousand dollar price tag that came with him. (I know. It's a good cause - curing cancer and all that. But still completely out of our price range.)

After the auction, I decided to look up the breeder of the puppy from the auction. I found her website and lo and behold - doesn't she have two more puppies available from the same litter? She did! (And they were a whole lot cheaper than five thousand dollars! Of course, we would be the family to negotiate the bargain basement, Target brand puppy. I am totally okay with that.)

We didn't tell the boys. On Saturday afternoon, we told them we were going to visit a friend. When we met up with the breeder, we asked the boys if they would like to pick a puppy to go home with us. I think we expected them to jump up and down and shout with joy. Instead, they stared at us in shock, unable to speak. Finally, Aidan looked at me and said hesitantly, "For real? You're not kidding?"

When I said we weren't kidding, the boys quickly picked out our puppy. Aidan told us he was shaking he was so happy. Brennan was shell shocked.

The boys all had ideas for names for our newest family member, but Brennan's pick of "Chewy," short for Chewbacca was quickly the favorite.

And so it was. Chewy the dog. He is already mauled and loved beyond measure. I think it is a perfect fit for us all. (Well, except for Griffin who has already asked when we are sending the puppy back. He's still adjusting.)

Nana and the Girls Hit NYC

My grandmother's 80th birthday was Saturday, November 14th. We had originally planned to throw her a surprise party, but upon getting wind of our plans, she told us she would prefer a trip with all the girls instead.

And so, on Thursday, November 11th, we all flew into NYC, eager to celebrate Nana with some shopping, eating, a little time at the spa and a whole lot of fun.

My Uncle David flew in for the official birthday dinner to surprise my grandmother. She caught sight of him walking down the street as we were about to jump into a limo to go to the restaurant.

We had a private room at an Italian restaurant for the birthday dinner. After we had sat down, my grandmother was engaged in conversation and did not notice my grandfather had sat down next to her. He remained there for at least five minutes until she turned and saw him.

The birthday girl had been hinting pretty hard for an iphone for her birthday. Of course, my grandfather obliged. I can't wait to see her first texts.

The whole crew in NYC after the birthday dinner (and many, many bottles of wine.)

First Confession and First Public Speaking

Prior to leaving for Aidan's first confession, Chris and I huddled in the laundry room, discussing in hushed tones our strategy should Aidan refuse to get up and give his student welcome at the beginning of the First Confession Mass.

We didn't believe he would do it. We thought he would see the packed church, the faces of his friends, school mates and family and decide he couldn't go through with it.

He surprised us all. Not only did he give his speech, but he did so with confidence and assurance that knocked my socks off. The priest called his name after the opening song and Aidan confidently got up out of his pew, walked up the length of the church, stood at the lectern and gave his speech.

I couldn't believe it. Since that night, we have received alot of comments and telephone calls from friends whose children were present at the ceremony. Anyone who knows Aidan is amazed by his transformation into a confident, self assured boy.

I am amazed, but I am also proud. Unbelievably proud.

Fueling the Fire

Just when we thought Aidan's obsession with his First Reconcilation was waning, he jumped off the bus today bursting with smiles and he told me he had been selected to give the Student Introduction at the ceremony on Tuesday.

We may be living in the land of obsessed with sin for quite some time. I'll try to get video of his little speech, but it's a fairly safe bet I will also be crying so we will have to see if I can multitask emotion with the desire to document the occasion for posterity's sake.

My sweet little Catholic boy. Or is this all a ploy on behalf of the school to actually get our entire family into church? Hmmmm, the plot thickens.

Pray for You

Aidan can have a somewhat, ahem, obsessive personality. If he likes something or is interested in a concept, he goes all in. There is no halfway for him. It's all or nothing. (I have no idea where he gets this from. Nope.)

This week he is obsessed with sins. Yes, sins. He is in preparation mode for his first confession next Tuesday and all he wants to discuss is how we all sin, why we sin and being forgiven for our sins.

He even recites the Act of Contrition at dinner. It makes for lovely dinner conversation.

In fact, Aidan was one of the first in his class to have the Act of Contrition memorized. This illustrious achievement awarded him the honor of a St. Anthony medal to wear around his neck. Yet instead of being proud of our son's religious acumen, Chris and I continue to giggle over how he looks like an Italian biker dude wearing a fake gold chain and a religious symbol. All he needs is some chest hair peeking through the chain and a white muscle shirt to complete the look. (Yes, we are not the ideal for parents of Catholic school children. If only the nuns knew the truth. Okay, they may have guessed by this point.)

On Wednesday, my friend Christine took Aidan for swimming practice for me. About halfway through the practice, I get a text from her that reads: "Aidan told Ellie she needs to start praying for her sins. Her response: What's a sin?"

I am hoping this whole sin obsession ends after the ceremony on Tuesday before my kid gets a rep as the crazy religious chain wearing boy. Keep your fingers crossed. Amen.

I Am Fantastic

Brennan's PreK class creates a book on a common topic once a week. The book is a compilation of the entire class's drawing and completion of a particular sentence. This week the theme was "I am fantastic because..."

I leafed through the book when I picked Brennan up today. He was gathering papers and his things as I chuckled over the answers at each child's page.

Brennan was fantastic because today he "screwed in every screw in our classroom bird feeder."

Then I got to Kathryn's page.

Kathryn was fantastic because she "visits her daddy at the cemetery."

It was like a punch to the gut reading those innocent words and viewing its accompanying illustration of a cemetery. I remembered vaguely hearing of Kathryn and her family a few months ago. I remembered she has three brothers and sisters - all young, and her father passed away unexpectedly after developing a severe staph infection. I remembered seeing her mother over the summer at the pool with her children and feeling an ache as I watched her, wondering how she was coping, but doing so from the comfortable distance offered a stranger.

You never expect your child to feel fantastic for visiting a cemetery. You pray and hope and wish for them to feel fantastic over normal, every day, child-like things. But sometimes, life, unexpectedly, happens. It was a much needed reminder to me to be grateful for the life I have with my children. We all could be a little more grateful.

Project Hockey

Apart from kiddie television, I have never really watched my TV while the boys are awake and in the house. A few weeks ago, we were enjoying a quiet Saturday afternoon at home. The boys were fully occupied playing a game with each other and I had some time to enjoy a moment of peace. I decided to watch a show and I dialed up Project Runway on the DVR.

One by one, the boys joined me to watch the show. They were transfixed by the clothes, by the designers and by the competition. At the end of the show, Aidan offered a guess as to who the week's winner was going to be. He was right. And they were hooked.

We have made our Project Runway sessions a little weekend ritual. Chris was oblivious to our ritual until dinner last week. Aidan proudly announced to the dinner table that he had not only once again accurately picked the week's winner (Irina), but he had also correctly surmised that Nicolas would be forced to go home.

I laughed and told Aidan he had a knack for fashion. Brennan shared his comments on his favorite outfits from the show while Griffin chimed in with his own opinions.

After a moment of listening to our Project Runway discussion, Chris shook his head and exclaimed, "That's it! We need to watch more hockey boys! HOCKEY. I think there's a game on tonight."

Project Hockey. It doesn't seem to have the same draw as the Runway.

Halloween 2009 : Costume Chaos

In the weeks leading up to Halloween, we had the costumes ready to go. Each boy was intent on wearing his choice of costume and talked about it incessantly.

Until Halloween Eve. Griffin decided he wanted to be Spiderman. Jedi, what Jedi? I dug through the house for all the pieces of our hand me down Spiderman costume. Griffin was thrilled and talked about his Spiderman costume all day long, until a half hour before we had to leave for a Halloween Party. Then and only then, was he adamant that he must attend the party as Batman, and not Spiderman.

Apparently Spiderman can not fly, and that was a serious problem to my two and a half year old. And there were some issues with Spiderman not having a cape. What two year old in their right mind would want to attend a Halloween party without a cape? Really. Sigh.

I commenced digging (again) through the house for our hand me down Batman costume for Griffin. (Yes, we are like a treasure chest of Boy super hero dress up costumes.)

We found Batman and Griffin was pleased. So pleased, he may have been strutting around the house.

Brennan was also pleased with his Jedi costume. Aidan, upon seeing Brennan in his Jedi costume, decided that he must also be a Jedi. Forget Jango Fett - he doesn't even get a light saber! With twenty minutes to go until the party, Brennan took off his Jedi costume to give to Aidan and quickly dressed in Griffin's Jedi costume. (I am so grateful I always buy a size or two up.)

And we were good to go. Whew. I was tired even before we arrived at the party. (I felt better after I had a nice glass of wine in hand. No parent should endure a child's Halloween Party without an adult beverage. That's a rule.)

The party was a huge success. The boys played games, ate kiddie buffet food, danced to Thriller and other Halloween related tunes, and enjoyed a ton of junk food.





Brennan's favorite junk food was the all you can eat, make your own sundae bar, complete with mini-marshmallows. He had his sights set on that sundae from the moment we walked into the party.

The boys pondered bobbing for apples. I allowed them to ponder, but then frantically persuaded them not to indulge after fears of a nice dose of H1N1 being the big prize for the lucky apple bobbers.

After the Halloween revelry on Friday night, it was hard to believe that the big day had yet to arrive.

In order to keep things interesting, the boys decided to mix up the costumes again. Aidan kept with his Jedi (or Brennan's Jedi) costume, while Brennan opted to go as Bobba Fett. Griffin, however, decided to go with Buzz Lightyear after seeing his "best buddy Ryan" dressed as Buzz at the party last night.

We had our traditional kiddie pizza and pre-trick or treating gathering at our house and tried to ignore the rain blowing sideways outside our windows. Thankfully, the rain broke, the sun peeked out and trick or treating was on.