Day Book, Last Week of April 2009

Outside my window ...
we have a groundhog living in our yard, under the shed. BamBam saw him first and declared he had seen a beaver! I'm torn between naming him Chuck or Grady.

I am listening to...
the very quiet hum of my iMac's fan. The boys are asleep, that's why I can hear it.

To be healthy and happy...
we took a walk yesterday. Such beautiful weather!

I am thankful for ...
everything!

From the kitchen ...
came pancakes this morning. Not usually seen on a weekday, and probably won't be again for a long time.

I am wearing ...
my old blue-and-green floral shirt which I don't like. My boys were both telling me at bedtime how much they love it. BamBam remembered me carrying him when he was a toddler and him putting his hand in the pocket. Arch claims he likes it "because I grew up with it."

I am creating ...
weekly lesson plans for Arch for the sixth grade. Most of the books are here, except math. After that, I'll move on to the kindergarten plans for BamBam.

On my iTunes...
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Bringing beauty to my home ...
with flowers hand picked for my by BamBam. Lots and lots of dandelions to brighten up the dining room table.

I am reading ...
The Wisdom of Father Dowling, which is a collection of short stories all previously published. I am also reading an advanced reading copy of a biography of Mother Teresa. I have promised to review it, and I'll post my review here when I'm done.

I recently watched ...
an absolutely antique Alfred Hitchcock movie I had never even heard of before. Blackmail, filmed in 1929. He was still in his London period. The cinematography was amazing for what it was. The first few scenes were completely silent aside for the soundtrack! Thanks to Big Jim for giving us the video.

I am hoping and praying ...
that the business continues to grow, despite the economy. We had good news this week, with the addition of at least two new commercial customers.

On keeping home ...
I have to weed the front garden on the next sunny day. The downstairs must be spiffed up tomorrow because the lady is coming to cut my hair in the afternoon. It's mostly just cluttered.

One of my favorite things ...
piles of clean folded laundry. I just wish it would stay clean and folded!

A few plans for the rest of the week...
include co-op, baseball, track-and-field and serving at Mass for Arch. Story hour for BamBam, Holy Name Society for DoorMan. And me? I'm getting a hair cut tomorrow, and being treated to a mother / child breakfast at church after Mass on Sunday.

Picture thoughts

My daffodils, which I believed had frozen to death before they bloomed. They made it after all!

Marriage Meme

Now there's a marriage one. Again, I'm not tagging anyone on this, just do it if you want.

For all you married people out there! Tag your married friends that you want to know about!
(Don't forget to tag the person who tagged you!)

1. When was your "engagement" anniversary: May 17, 1994

2. When is your "marriage" anniversary: September 30, 1995

3. How long have you known your spouse: Since May 1990

4. How long did you date/court before you were engaged: 47 days

5. Where did you meet your spouse for the first time: Briandi's

6. What is your spouses full name: Stanley Francis Bernard, Jr.

7. Do you have any children yet: yes

8. How many: Two

9. Do you have any house pets: No

10. Do you own a house or rent: Rent

11. Do you live in the country or town/city: city

12. What is one of your favorite activities together: hitting the wine trail

13. Do you have a favorite vacation spot: New York City

14. How many siblings (including in-laws): 4 borhters; 5 sisters

15. What church do you attend: All Saints Lockport

16. Is this the church you were married in: No

17. What town is your current address: Lockport

18. Do you work or stay at home: Stay home

19. Where did you honeymoon: Finger Lakes

20: Leave a piece of marriage advice: Be yourself.

First Born Meme

I was tagged on facebook. I'm doing it, but not tagging anyone else....

Here you go mommies - a different kind of survey for a change - it's all about your first born! Just copy and paste it in a new note for yourself! Tag 10 mommies when you're finished.

Let's see how much you remember!

1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED? yes and no.... yes we were trying; no, I had a procedure performed that month, and my Gyn said I wouldn't be able to conceive until my next cycle. I never got a next cycle.....

2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME? yes

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS? shocked and very happy, speechless

4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU? never ever

5. HOW OLD WERE YOU? 29

6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT? test at the Gyn office, following up after my earlier procedure

7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST? husband

8. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX? no

9. DUE DATE? July 18

10. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS? yes, and severe food aversions

11. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE? nothing, I could barely eat

12. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST? the smell of food

13. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S SEX? boy

14. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING? no

15. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY? 40

16. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER? yes, two

17. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW? knew both times

18. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY? yes: failed my one-hour glucose test; had slight hypertension; in early labor my contractions were very unorganized; at hospital had very high blood pressure, had to be in bed the whole time with a saline flush, fetal heart monitor in his scalp, fetal bloodwork, I had an oxygen mask and constant blood pressure monitor; the neo-natal transport team was in the delivery room ready to take him to Children's. He ended up being fine......apgar of 9.

19. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH? Millard Suburban

20. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR? 14

21. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL? husband

22. WHO WAS WITH YOU WHEN YOU GIVE BIRTH? husband, doctor, nurse, two neo-natal paramedics (if that's what they're called)

23. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION? natural

24. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN? epidural, which they had delayed because they were debating a c-section. Then the guy was busy... finally I got it with my contractions about 15 seconds apart, and I delivered soon after.

27. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH? 8 lbs. 2 oz.

28. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN ? July 16

30. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER? Robert Sean

31. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY? 10

25 Random Things About Me

I was tagged by The Byrdman on Facebook.

Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

1. I am terrified to fly. I had a bad flight once in college, going back to school from Winter Break. There were about five passengers on a big commercial plane, and we took off late from Newark in a blinding snowstorm, very early in the morning. Out of my window I saw lights, very close to our plane, as we were ascending. I think we almost hit another plane. Whether we did or not, it terrified me. Then, I flew into Boston for work once. No one warned me that it was perfectly normal for the plane to fly out over the Atlantic and bank so steeply that all you can see out you window is water. I haven't flown since 1993.
2. I am a Mac person. I have never in my life owned a PC. I am on my fifth Mac in the last fifteen years.
   
3. Autumn is my favorite season. Cool but not too cold. Apples, pumpkins, colorful leaves, Thanksgiving.
4. I am from Queens. We lived in Woodside until I was almost five.
5. I have lived more than half of my life in either Erie or Niagara County, counting college.
6. I am completely Irish. Period.
7. I have started to write at least five novels. I never finish them.
8. I am a revert to the Catholic faith. I never formally left it, but I did not practice my faith (or any other one) for about eleven years.
9. I love Golden Age detective books. I own have read everything Agatha Christie has ever written, including two autobiographies and a book of poems. I also own all of the Sherlock Holmes books and all of Chesterton's Father Brown books.
10. I am an avid planner and a recovering procrastinator.
11. I love to cook and bake. I seldom follow a recipe to the letter. My cookbooks are covered with notes in the margins about what I actually did when I made the dish.
12. I would love to have a viable business selling used books online. I do that now, but I don't devote enough time to it to make it really profitable.
13. I drink two cups of coffee every morning. No more, no less.
14. I don't have any nieces or nephews on my side of the family, but on my husband's side I have eighteen nieces and nephews, two nephews-in-law and one grand-nephew.
15. We own a huge amount of books. We have books in every room of our house except the bathrooms. Even have bookcases in the hallways. I am supposed to be organizing and cataloging them, but..... (see # 10 above)
16. I have read every Jane Austen novel, and seen at least one movie adaptation of each one.
17. My grandmothers were named Catherine and Kathryn. My aunt was named Katherine. My husband's grandmother was named Katarzyna. If we ever have a baby girl, she will be named Cathryn.
18. I have more blood relations (first cousins once removed and second cousins) in Ireland than in America.
19. I have always loved to watch sports. I have been a fan of the Mets since I was eight. My favorite sport to watch on TV is baseball. Close seconds are football and NASCAR.
20. I have a devotion to St. Therese of Lisieux. My father grew up in Little Flower parish in Flatbush, Brooklyn. My mother grew up at St. Theresa's in Sunnyside, Queens. I took Therese as my confirmation name.
21. Before I was married, if you considered my confirmation name, my initials spelled MATH. I aced the math regents my freshman year in high school, and earned the monicker Ms. MATH from a certain disgruntled classmate who only got a 99.
22. We don't have cable TV or a video game console. My children don't have hand-held games or cell phones. They are not allowed to watch TV commercials or to be on the computer without me. They read things printed on paper, and play with things they can actually touch.
23. Wherever we have lived, we have had homeschoolers as close neighbors, just coincidentially. I think there are a lot more homeschoolers out there than people imagine.
24. I have learned that motherhood makes one much less squeamish. I'm not even afraid of spiders anymore.
25. I love to do needlecrafts like crocheting and counted cross-stitch, but I seldom find the time. I have a pile of unfinished projects. After my mother-in-law passed away, I found some of her unfinished projects. It made me sad, and I determined to finish all of mine. I haven't stuck with it.

There, 25 things about me. I know I just tagged a bunch of people in another meme this week. I was tagged on this one, so I had to do it! I will try not to tag too many of you twice. If I do, I'm sorry!