November and December flew by. It seemed we had just gotten over Halloween when it was Thanksgiving and now Christmas. Wow! I am exhausted and still have lots to do. We have a lot to be thankful for this year though. We have 3 beautiful healthy grandsons and lots of family to share the holidays with.
Our traditions are changing to meet our growing families needs, this Saturday we are doing the Fell celebration at Uncle Bob's and them we have a celebration on Christmas Eve with my mom and Rich's family so Rich and Lynn can spend some time with Grandmom Pagnotta and anyone else who wants to stop by. We spend Christmas morning at their house where Lynn and Rich cook us a great breakfast and we watch the kids open our presents to them. After breakfast we go home and take a rest, then head to my brother Dan's for the Pagnotta celebration.
I have been working late for the past 6 weeks so getting things done is a little tricky but we are all pitching in and it will get done. My company is crazy between October and mid December but we get off from Monday, December 24th until Wednesday, January 2nd as bonus days with pay so it makes it worth the pain. I am really looking forward to the time off.
Since I didn't get a chance to get my holiday cards out, I hope everyone has a great Holiday!!
Friday, December 21, 2007
Saturday, November 10, 2007
October was a busy month!
Wow! We started off October with a weekend of birthday parties, both at a pumpkin patch. Gabby's was on Saturday and it was 80 plus degrees. Colin and Sean seemed to enjoy it but Paulie was not as thrilled so Lynn and Rich went to Kleio's on Sunday with Colin and Pa and I watched Paulie. He is such a great baby. Good thing for Lynn and Rich because when you have all three together it is exhausting, but we love it.
The following weekend was the first birthday for Kamryn, (hard to believe!) and Pa and I took Colin because Paulie was sick. Colin had a great time and everyone kept telling us how beautiful his hair and eyes are.
The weekend of the 20th we had Paulie and Colin for a sleepover visit and we had a great time. They slept the whole night and it was fun having them here for breakfast. Colin and I baked, he loves cooking like his dad. We went for walks and played outside. It was great.
The last weekend Of October we watched the boys on Saturday and kept Colin overnight to give Lynn and Rich a break while preparing for Paulie's Christening party on Sunday. The priest had a great personality so it turned out very well and Paulie looked adorable in his little suit. We had good food and a great time at Lynn and Rich's. Rich was thrilled that his grandmom came to his home for the first time. We were a little worried about the steps but she made out great. She was a hit with the young people as always.
We ended the month with Halloween and they were so cute in their costumes. Colin was a perfect Dennis the Menace. Sean cracked me up with the Policeman's hat. They are a trip!
Colin went from saying few words to talking in sentences in about 4-6 weeks. He repeats everything and I do mean EVERYTHING! It is amazing to watch them grow. Hard to believe in September 2008 Sean will be in kindergarten already.
As we get older and life doesn't seem to be getting any easier we have to realize that as long as we have been blessed with beautiful children including our daughter-in-law and beautiful grandsons, life is great!
My father would be happy to know that the tradition goes on. He always said "there isn't a bad looking one in the bunch, dear." Of course he was just a little prejudiced! You would have to know my father to know that when he said that he was filled with pride when it came to his kids and grandkids. He never tired of having his grandchildren underfoot. I know now how he felt. His legacy continues to grow as Little Dan and Mollie are expecting in May. We are all very excited for them!
The following weekend was the first birthday for Kamryn, (hard to believe!) and Pa and I took Colin because Paulie was sick. Colin had a great time and everyone kept telling us how beautiful his hair and eyes are.
The weekend of the 20th we had Paulie and Colin for a sleepover visit and we had a great time. They slept the whole night and it was fun having them here for breakfast. Colin and I baked, he loves cooking like his dad. We went for walks and played outside. It was great.
The last weekend Of October we watched the boys on Saturday and kept Colin overnight to give Lynn and Rich a break while preparing for Paulie's Christening party on Sunday. The priest had a great personality so it turned out very well and Paulie looked adorable in his little suit. We had good food and a great time at Lynn and Rich's. Rich was thrilled that his grandmom came to his home for the first time. We were a little worried about the steps but she made out great. She was a hit with the young people as always.
We ended the month with Halloween and they were so cute in their costumes. Colin was a perfect Dennis the Menace. Sean cracked me up with the Policeman's hat. They are a trip!
Colin went from saying few words to talking in sentences in about 4-6 weeks. He repeats everything and I do mean EVERYTHING! It is amazing to watch them grow. Hard to believe in September 2008 Sean will be in kindergarten already.
As we get older and life doesn't seem to be getting any easier we have to realize that as long as we have been blessed with beautiful children including our daughter-in-law and beautiful grandsons, life is great!
My father would be happy to know that the tradition goes on. He always said "there isn't a bad looking one in the bunch, dear." Of course he was just a little prejudiced! You would have to know my father to know that when he said that he was filled with pride when it came to his kids and grandkids. He never tired of having his grandchildren underfoot. I know now how he felt. His legacy continues to grow as Little Dan and Mollie are expecting in May. We are all very excited for them!
Monday, October 29, 2007
Friday, September 14, 2007
Monday, September 3, 2007
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Summer is flying by!
The summer is flying by. As with all summers it just seems too short. I am not a heat person but summer is still a time of lazy afternoons and enjoying the outdoors. I love having it stay light so late because I don't get out of work until 5:30 and there is still time to get outside and enjoy a little time to work in the yard, walk the dog, visit the kids or just sit and enjoy being outside.
This week is Colin's second birthday and he is talking more everyday. He is a trip! Sean is getting ready for school and soccer, I can't wait for soccer, I miss watching my boys play. Now it is time for a new generation to start, where did the time go? Paul is already getting excited when he sees a ball and can't wait to start following his brothers around, it won't be long. They grow up so fast.
Since my last post.......
Kevin was notified on his 21st birthday, June 27th, that he was accepted into the apprenticeship for the electical union and will be doing telecommunications. He was notified yesterday that he starts working for the union at McGraw Hill on Monday, August 13th. His classes start in September. He is thrilled and we are very proud of the man he is becoming.
Kim and Gary got married and we enjoyed a day at the Marina and got to spend some time with Kenny and Dina's daughter Jasmine who loves throwing stones in the bay with her Uncle Rich. Surprise huh! Maddy still wants to go to the creek with Uncle Richie when she visits and now Colin and Sean love going there too. Kids seem to be drawn to him, he is a kid magnet even at KinderCare where he works. He always has a story about the kids following him around or calling him Mr. Rich.
Big Rich, aka Mr. Rich,Uncle Reechie, Herbert, Dad, Pa, PopPop turned 55 on Saturday, July 14th and had to go to Nashville Tennesse for training on Monday the 16th. He stayed at Grandville Opryland and was amazed by the complex they stayed in. It was huge!! He hates being away from home though and it was weird for me to have him gone. The 31st of this month we will be married 36 years and have only been apart maybe 2 or 3 times for more than a day. Neither of us got much sleep while he was gone.
Little Rich, although he is taller than his dad, started work at Colonial Cadillac on August 6th.
The people there are really nice and he is much more comfortable and feels more confident in an area he has lots of contacts and familiarity. We are sure he will be successful there. There is another benefit as well, we get to see him more often.
Luke is huge and we think could be part pony. He is so crazy and steals everthing from socks to mail and runs in his crate with it. It is funny but can also get on your nerves after the fourth or fifth time you have to crawl in the crate to retrieve something. We were leaving him in the kitchen with a gate up for two weeks and he was doing great until Rich went to Tennessee and Luke started getting on counters and the desk and chewing up things. He chewed a whole pack of new photo paper. It looked like it had snowed in my kitchen. I was not happy. It is not cheap.
Sunday the 12th we are having some family over for cake for Colin. I will post some new pictures after.
This week is Colin's second birthday and he is talking more everyday. He is a trip! Sean is getting ready for school and soccer, I can't wait for soccer, I miss watching my boys play. Now it is time for a new generation to start, where did the time go? Paul is already getting excited when he sees a ball and can't wait to start following his brothers around, it won't be long. They grow up so fast.
Since my last post.......
Kevin was notified on his 21st birthday, June 27th, that he was accepted into the apprenticeship for the electical union and will be doing telecommunications. He was notified yesterday that he starts working for the union at McGraw Hill on Monday, August 13th. His classes start in September. He is thrilled and we are very proud of the man he is becoming.
Kim and Gary got married and we enjoyed a day at the Marina and got to spend some time with Kenny and Dina's daughter Jasmine who loves throwing stones in the bay with her Uncle Rich. Surprise huh! Maddy still wants to go to the creek with Uncle Richie when she visits and now Colin and Sean love going there too. Kids seem to be drawn to him, he is a kid magnet even at KinderCare where he works. He always has a story about the kids following him around or calling him Mr. Rich.
Big Rich, aka Mr. Rich,Uncle Reechie, Herbert, Dad, Pa, PopPop turned 55 on Saturday, July 14th and had to go to Nashville Tennesse for training on Monday the 16th. He stayed at Grandville Opryland and was amazed by the complex they stayed in. It was huge!! He hates being away from home though and it was weird for me to have him gone. The 31st of this month we will be married 36 years and have only been apart maybe 2 or 3 times for more than a day. Neither of us got much sleep while he was gone.
Little Rich, although he is taller than his dad, started work at Colonial Cadillac on August 6th.
The people there are really nice and he is much more comfortable and feels more confident in an area he has lots of contacts and familiarity. We are sure he will be successful there. There is another benefit as well, we get to see him more often.
Luke is huge and we think could be part pony. He is so crazy and steals everthing from socks to mail and runs in his crate with it. It is funny but can also get on your nerves after the fourth or fifth time you have to crawl in the crate to retrieve something. We were leaving him in the kitchen with a gate up for two weeks and he was doing great until Rich went to Tennessee and Luke started getting on counters and the desk and chewing up things. He chewed a whole pack of new photo paper. It looked like it had snowed in my kitchen. I was not happy. It is not cheap.
Sunday the 12th we are having some family over for cake for Colin. I will post some new pictures after.
Monday, July 2, 2007
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Father's Day 2007
Father's Day 2007 was very relaxing this year. Lynn, Rich and the boys came to visit early. We had a light lunch and got to visit for a couple of hours. Rich is good husband and dad and we are proud of him.
Lynn is my salvation in my house of boys, thank god, for another woman. She has become my friend as well as my daughter-in-law and I really enjoy her company. It is also great having my own hair colorist. Only kidding, she has become a big part of our lives and we love her.
It is hard to believe how big the boys are getting. Paulie gets brighter every day and is starting to be his own little person.
Colin has his own routine when he visits, he has to go on the slide, ride in his car and play with the Fisher Price garage. I can't forget play ball, he has to play with all the balls and now has added getting Luke to fetch to his routine. The dog loves him.
Kevin is determined to go back to school and has an appointment at Monmouth in the middle of July to talk about getting financial aid. He also has an interview on June 25th with the Electrical Union to see about an apprenticeship program. He has already passed the test and they want to meet with him. He wants to weigh all his options. He seems to really be growing up.
So this Father's Day, Pop Pop got to do his favorite things, see the kids, take a nap and barbecue. A perfect Sunday.
Lynn is my salvation in my house of boys, thank god, for another woman. She has become my friend as well as my daughter-in-law and I really enjoy her company. It is also great having my own hair colorist. Only kidding, she has become a big part of our lives and we love her.
It is hard to believe how big the boys are getting. Paulie gets brighter every day and is starting to be his own little person.
Colin has his own routine when he visits, he has to go on the slide, ride in his car and play with the Fisher Price garage. I can't forget play ball, he has to play with all the balls and now has added getting Luke to fetch to his routine. The dog loves him.
Kevin is determined to go back to school and has an appointment at Monmouth in the middle of July to talk about getting financial aid. He also has an interview on June 25th with the Electrical Union to see about an apprenticeship program. He has already passed the test and they want to meet with him. He wants to weigh all his options. He seems to really be growing up.
So this Father's Day, Pop Pop got to do his favorite things, see the kids, take a nap and barbecue. A perfect Sunday.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Vacation
Well Rich and I decided to take the 4 additional days after Memorial Day and take the boys on a day trip as well as do some major landscaping and house projects only to have some record breaking heat that week. As most people know, heat is not my thing! I work outside for 2 hours and have to come in for 2 hours so needless to say, half the jobs got accomplished.
We did however take the boys to Brit's Animal Kingdom in Burlington County which was really fun. The kids got to feed monkeys, llamas, giraffes, sheep, coyotes, wolves, pigs and some other stuff, they loved it. There were Chinese Crested hairless dogs walking around. They are so calm it's weird. Colin loved the pot bellied pig. He wanted all the balls in the animals cages but didn't throw a fit when he couldn't have them. He was content to just throw the feed or look at them. The animal feed had marshmallows, animal crackers, peanuts and fruit loops so the kids ate half of it. We had to buy a second bag so Sean could feed the giraffes which he spotted when we first got there and couldn't wait to see, he kept saying after each part, now do we see the giraffassess. We were cracking up. We had a good time. The kids seemed to really like it. From there we went to McDonalds with a playground and the kids loved it because they had it all to themselves. After that we stopped at Uncle Danny's to say hello to Grandmom Pagnotta and jump on the trampoline. They slept the whole way back home.
The trip to Animal Kingdom was quite an experience for us. Sean is such a trip! Rich was driving and Colin dropped his bottle, so I unbuckled my seat belt and reached for his bottle when Sean said, " I think you better put your seat belt back on Mom Mom or you are going to get arrested. I think I hear the cops now. " I looked up and we were passing a construction site and there was a policeman in front of his police car with it's lights flashing. I put my seat belt back on and said to Sean, "That was close." He says I know cause Kevin (Kevin J., Lynn's brother, is 6) got arrested last week for not having his seat belt on. I said, "No kidding!" He says "Yeah!" I said, "That's a shame, is he still in jail? He says, no Mark (Mark J. is 11) got him out because Mark's a cop now you know." I said I didn't know that. He says, well he was a cop but not anymore I don't think.
He kept us quite entertained with his stories in the car. After each one he would say wait Mom Mom, just one more story. The amazing thing to me though is watching his face while he is telling the stories, you can almost see his brain going a hundred miles an hour trying to think of what to add to the story and he gets so animated, it's hysterical.
We did however take the boys to Brit's Animal Kingdom in Burlington County which was really fun. The kids got to feed monkeys, llamas, giraffes, sheep, coyotes, wolves, pigs and some other stuff, they loved it. There were Chinese Crested hairless dogs walking around. They are so calm it's weird. Colin loved the pot bellied pig. He wanted all the balls in the animals cages but didn't throw a fit when he couldn't have them. He was content to just throw the feed or look at them. The animal feed had marshmallows, animal crackers, peanuts and fruit loops so the kids ate half of it. We had to buy a second bag so Sean could feed the giraffes which he spotted when we first got there and couldn't wait to see, he kept saying after each part, now do we see the giraffassess. We were cracking up. We had a good time. The kids seemed to really like it. From there we went to McDonalds with a playground and the kids loved it because they had it all to themselves. After that we stopped at Uncle Danny's to say hello to Grandmom Pagnotta and jump on the trampoline. They slept the whole way back home.
The trip to Animal Kingdom was quite an experience for us. Sean is such a trip! Rich was driving and Colin dropped his bottle, so I unbuckled my seat belt and reached for his bottle when Sean said, " I think you better put your seat belt back on Mom Mom or you are going to get arrested. I think I hear the cops now. " I looked up and we were passing a construction site and there was a policeman in front of his police car with it's lights flashing. I put my seat belt back on and said to Sean, "That was close." He says I know cause Kevin (Kevin J., Lynn's brother, is 6) got arrested last week for not having his seat belt on. I said, "No kidding!" He says "Yeah!" I said, "That's a shame, is he still in jail? He says, no Mark (Mark J. is 11) got him out because Mark's a cop now you know." I said I didn't know that. He says, well he was a cop but not anymore I don't think.
He kept us quite entertained with his stories in the car. After each one he would say wait Mom Mom, just one more story. The amazing thing to me though is watching his face while he is telling the stories, you can almost see his brain going a hundred miles an hour trying to think of what to add to the story and he gets so animated, it's hysterical.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
2007
We have grown once again with the addition of Paul Richard born 3-30-07. Another boy to add to 2 sons, 2 grandsons and Luke our new puppy. Life could not get much better unless of course we could hit the lottery or won an all expense paid trip to Hawaii!
As almost all grandparents will tell you, it is the real deal!! It doesn't get much better than being a grandparent. When you become a parent the first time you are afraid that you will not be able to find any more love inside to share with another child, then when the next one arrives, you find that amazingly you love that one just as much. The same is true with grandchildren but this time you don't have the day to day struggles of caring for them. It is a love that you cannot explain to anyone until they experience it.
I have become a brag book carrying Mom Mom and love to show off all my newest pictures, but then again I am quite the picture freak as many of you already know. I have pictures of all my nieces and nephews, great nieces and nephews and great great niece in frames, books, and a collage on my bulletin board next to the computer which is one of the reasons I decided to start my own blog. I have run out of places to put pictures and wanted to have a place to organize them all.
As time and miles separate so many of us now this is a great way to stay in touch and hope you enjoy reading future posts as much as I enjoy reading each of your blogs, comments or emails.
As almost all grandparents will tell you, it is the real deal!! It doesn't get much better than being a grandparent. When you become a parent the first time you are afraid that you will not be able to find any more love inside to share with another child, then when the next one arrives, you find that amazingly you love that one just as much. The same is true with grandchildren but this time you don't have the day to day struggles of caring for them. It is a love that you cannot explain to anyone until they experience it.
I have become a brag book carrying Mom Mom and love to show off all my newest pictures, but then again I am quite the picture freak as many of you already know. I have pictures of all my nieces and nephews, great nieces and nephews and great great niece in frames, books, and a collage on my bulletin board next to the computer which is one of the reasons I decided to start my own blog. I have run out of places to put pictures and wanted to have a place to organize them all.
As time and miles separate so many of us now this is a great way to stay in touch and hope you enjoy reading future posts as much as I enjoy reading each of your blogs, comments or emails.
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