Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Aging Gracefully

ERIN: "Mom, when does the next baby come? I remember when Brian was a teeny, tiny newborn. But now...well...he's starting to be, like, an old-born."

Monday, April 20, 2009

Marathon Monday

The girls spent the late morning glued to the television screen, watching the Boston marathon coverage. Aunt Mary ran the marathon, and they desperately wanted to catch a glimpse of her crossing the finish line. They crowded around the TV, frantically trying to pick her out from among the Ethiopians and Kenyans in the lead pack.

"I just can't find Aunt Mary!", they called out to me every few minutes.

"Keep looking!", I called back. (I found it a wonderful way to keep them occupied for long stretches of time.)

As the lead three runners headed down the last leg of the race, the girls screamed encouragement to the American in the group, who eventually slowed down a bit and finished in third place. As the second place woman crossed the finish line, she collapsed in a heap, and was instantly surrounded by paramedics, and whisked away on a stretcher.

Beth stared in horror. "Mom, do they have to do this? Does someone make people run marathons?" It seemed unbelievable to her that people actually choose to torture themselves in this manner. Even more incredible to her is the fact that her own Daddy did this to himself three times, and so did Uncle John and Uncle Brendan.

"Well, I'm never going to do that", she confided in me. "I'll win my gold medals and trophies in gymnastics. Besides, I would never want to run in those underwear-outfits, anyway."

Aunt Mary finished the 26.2 miles with an amazing time. She might not have been in that lead pack, but it was an incredible accomplishment. Congratulations, Aunt Mary! Great run today!!! We're all very proud of you.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Dressed To Impress






We all enjoyed a hectic but wonderful Easter morning together. The Easter eggs hidden by the Bunny were hunted down and eaten, Beth sang beautifully at Mass, and we all ate a delicious family brunch together before I headed into work for the evening. Dan and the kids had lots of fun visiting with Nana, Grampy and lots of cousins, uncles and aunts. Greydon and Maeve were definitely missed, and we are all relieved to hear that Greydon is out of the hospital and doing much better today.

Here are some pictures of the kids, all dressed up for the holiday. Brian wasn't wild about his first tie, but he tolerated it without much fuss. I hope you all had a wonderful, peaceful Easter!

Friday, April 10, 2009

Finally...an update!

Since Brian is finally on the mend from his latest battle with croup, we decided to maintain tradition, and spend Good Friday at a local shrine. The weather was beautiful, so we were able to walk through the outside Stations Of The Cross. The girls were quite reverent, stopping at each statue to examine it and try to understand its meaning. Even Brian seemed to notice the solemnity of the day, as he sat silently in his stroller while we walked the grounds of the shrine. It was a quiet, peaceful morning, and we finished up by visiting the gift shop, where the girls each picked out a religious coloring book. The books kept them busy and happy for most of the afternoon, thus making Good Friday as quiet and reverent as possible with four little ones in the house!

Tomorrow we are hoping to attend an Easter Egg hunt, but I fear that the weather may cause a cancellation of this much-anticipated event. Of course, we'll certainly spend some time decorating dozens of Easter eggs that the kids will then refuse to eat. The girls are quite excited about the impending arrival of the Easter bunny, and their adorable Easter dresses (courtesy of Grandma and Pop) hang ready in their room for Sunday morning.

Beth will be singing with the choir on Sunday morning. She is quite excited about her "big role", too. She will be announcing each song before the singing begins, and she's thrilled about having sole possession of the microphone at various times during Easter Mass. Needless to say, I'm a bit nervous for her...

Now, if Brian can just manage to stay healthy for a week or two at a time, I promise to do a better job at writing on the blog! He's not the healthiest little guy, but we count our blessings that it's only ear infections and croup. Hopefully his immune system will be quite strong by the time he enters school!