Blah Blah Blah

As you may have noticed, it has been a while since my last entry. The past week or so has been kind of busy with Thanksgiving, Katie's birthday and various other things. I also haven't really had much to write about...or nothing that seemed overly interesting to me. So this is going to be kind of random...not really focussing on one topic.

Thanksgiving went well. We had dinner at my grandmothers which was something we had not done in years. Being there brought back many childhood memories of times when my great grandfather was alive. I remember that he used to sit at the head of the table, with my immediate family to his right and my Aunt and Uncles to his left. I also remember Ma, my grandmother on my fathers side sitting at the opposite end of the table next to Nana. It was funny how we all sat in the same seats from year to year.

Suzanne and John joined us for desert and we opened Katie's birthday presents. Actually, for the most part, she opened them herself, with a little help from her big sister Emily. She got a beautiful new snowsuit from Mimi and Papa, a musical tea set and blocks from Mama and Daddy, a movie from Aunty Heather, and two adorable outfits from Uncle John and Aunty Suzanne.

On Sunday, Katie's real birthday we had Ryun's family come over. Ryun made the cake and it was very good. It was a great afternoon and Emily and Katie enjoyed playing with their cousins, Megan and Joshua.

We officially bought the Taurus wagon from my parents. The Topaz had some kind of problem with the alternator and the inspection sticker was only good for a few more weeks anyway. I love having a four door car again!!

Tonight at dinner Emily finished her entire meal...an almost unheard of feat. Of course tonight was one of the few nights that I did not have any kind of desert to give her (the deal is if you finish dinner you can have desert). Well anyway, I had to go food shopping(which I did after the girls went to bed). After I told Emily that there really was nothing "deserty" to have she said and I quote, "I know Mama! My desert can be a kiss on the cheek from you Daddy!" I don't know of any kid in the world (or adult for that matter!) that would consider a kiss on the cheek to be equal with say, a chocolate chip cookie! I just gave her the biggest hug in the world (along with a kiss on the cheek) and told her that she was priceless. The things that come out of her mouth...lets just say she never ceases to amaze me!

What am I Thankful For?

Emily has decided that this year at Thanksgiving she wants to go around the table and have each person say one thing that they are thankful for. Emily has been talking about Thanksgiving at school this month so she has learned all about the holiday, when it started and what it is all about. She told me that she thought of this idea all by herself because she wanted her family to know she was "thankful about them." I am amazed everyday by her kindness but there are some days, like today that I am so proud of her sweetness and generosity that she brings a tear to my eye.

Katherine Elizabeth

On November 25 Katie will be two! The year she was born, November 25 was Thanksgiving. Needless to say, Ryun and I had one very good reason among many to be thankful...the arrival of a beautiful baby girl! I can still remember joking around with my mother the day before Katie was born about how I hoped that I would not be able to enjoy the potatoes and squash I was peeling because I would be too busy delivering a baby. As it turned out, my mother saved a plate for me which Ryun ended up eating because I was not hungry.

As if it was not hard enough for me to deal with the fact that she is two, she had the nerve to learn how to swing one leg up over the crib rail. This means she will soon be in a bed...one major step out of babyhood! I can still remember when she she was in the cradle like it was yesterday. As most parents will agree, time seems to go at warp speed once you become a parent.

Now that Katie is getting older, everyone asks us when we are going to have "the" baby boy. I find this question very odd because last I knew, there was no "surefire way" (if you'll pardon the expression!) of guaranteeing the sex of a child. The truth is that, even if there was I don't think we will be having another...at least not any time soon. We are happy with the two that we have.

I love how people refer to the possible child in our future as "the" baby boy. As if "he" already exists. Next, they'll be giving him a name and social security number! For the record, if "he" ever does come to be his name will be Brendan. As for the social security number, you will never know!

One of the many things that comes with any child turning two is the thought of potty training. This is one step out of babyhood that I am so looking forward to. As hard as it can be to train a child, the payoff is great! NO MORE DIAPERS!!!!!!!!!!!! Although I think we will wait to start Katie until after the holidays, just the thought of it only being a couple of months away is nice.

Katie is starting to talk a lot. She has the sweetest voice. I love to hear her say "Mama". She calls Emily, "Emee" and our cats Joey and Pal, "Goey and Mal". She is definitely Daddy's little girl. It is so cute to watch her run to the door screaming with delight, "DADDY"!

She has a great personality and it is really starting to show. She is the typical two year old with the "my way or the highway" attitude and those of you who have seen her lately are familiar with her infamous "laser look". She is very smart, very determined and even a little stubborn. Sometimes, she will just run up to me in the middle of the day and give me a hug and a kiss. This makes my whole day. She is very laid back and easy going and has the most infectious laugh.

Katie is a joy and she brings us as many reasons if not more to be thankful this Thanksgiving as she did on the one when she was born!

Tomato Juice

As you will notice, my website has changed just a bit. I think it looks good, unfortunately, I can take none of the credit for it! Doug took care of it all...the new color scheme, the tag line running across the top...everything. I have to say that I am very impressed. It looks one hundred times better than it did and I think it will make it easier to read. Make sure you check his website out as well...the link is at the bottom of this page.

Anyway, about a week ago, Ryun went out just after dark to put the trash in the bin and as he opened the back door, there was a skunk on the stairs. Thankfully, it ran as soon as it heard the door open but I could not help thinking about how horrible it would have been had Ryun gotten sprayed. Then, I started wondering who thought of trying tomato juice to get rid of the smell? Who would think of something like that? It also got me thinking about all of the other things that they must have tried before figuring out tomato juice did the trick. Tomato juice seems strange enough to me...I don't even think I want to know what they may have tried before. Anyway, kind of a random thought but I just figured I would write about it anyway...

Walt Disney World

I take back every bad thing I have ever said about my job. As of today I feel that I could never be employed with a better company and I would recommend even to my closest friends working there. Okay, I am exaggerating just a bit but I just won a trip to Walt Disney World thanks to Adelphia and the Starz/Encore Channel so I am just a little excited! It is an all inclusive trip for two that we will be taking during February vacation! It will just be Ryun and I and even though I feel a little weird about going without the girls, I am looking forward to spending a week with just Ryun. I thought about taking Emily and Katie with us but decided that they were too young and would not remember it anyway. So that is it for now...so excited I can't even think of what else to write!!

Randomness

Randomness

It has been awhile since I have written, mostly because I have been trying to figure out this whole HTML thing. As you will notice, I have changed the appearance of my journal and even added a few of my favorite links down at the bottom of the page. Doug, the person who gave me this whole journal idea in the first place, also showed my how to sort of "cheat" with the HTML. While his method was very helpful, I still found it frustrating trying to figure out what to cut and what not to. In any event, I finally got it looking halfway decent and now I can write again.

Halloween went well. Emily had a party and parade at preschool which was really cute. While there, we found out that Emily was in the same class as her 4th cousin. I had no idea until I saw my fathers 1st cousins walk in and sit across from us. Small world...

Halloween itself was fun. The girls looked adorable in their princess costumes and had a lot of fun running around the neighborhood trick or treating. After we were done, we went to a friends house for a Halloween party for the kids. A good time was had by kids and adults alike. Emily decorated a cookie with frosting that of course, had more frosting than cookie! She is the typical frosting lover who scrapes the frosting of and eats hardly any of whatever is underneath. Oh well...she had fun doing it (and eating it!) and that is all that matters.

In other news, the Topaz did not pass inspection. Not a big surprise, but frustrating just the same. There were many problems, too expensive to fix given all of the other money we have put into that car so, we have decided to buy my parents Ford Taurus wagon. It is a good car, in good condition and will be great for family trips given its size. I will be driving that and Ryun will be driving the Lincoln. It will be nice to again be driving a car with four doors...so much easier to get the kids in and out!

For the next 6 weeks or so, Ryun will be working the night shift at the Christian Science Center in Boston. I guess there is an elevator they want done there stat, so his company, Advanced Elevator has decided to set up two shifts. It will be nice to have him home during the day with the kids and I. Emily is very excited that Daddy will be able to bring her to preschool and dancing lessons, as well as meet her teachers. We are also hoping to get a lot of different things done around here, some of which Ryun has already started. Motivation is little more present during the day before work than at night after a long day and a sometimes crappy commute.

Well, thats all for now. I will be updating this site as frequently as time allows, so be sure to check back often!