Happy Birthday John & Ryan

Sunday, June 14th was John & Ryan's 9th birthday! Cannot believe how fast time flies. It seems like yesterday when God blessed us with two beautiful boys! They have brought so much joy into our lives! HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN & RYAN!!!!!

Karate Awards!!

On Saturday, John & Ryan competed in their first karate competition. There were two different events in which they both participated. The first was combinations and blocks where they have to demonstrate the techniques they have learned in class. The second event was sparring where the boys wear the head gear and gloves. They score points by hitting the opponent in the head, chest or stomach. Each round they need to get three points. John placed first in sparring and third in combinations and Ryan placed first in combinations and third in sparring. They did awesome!!! They each won two medals along with trophies! We are so proud of you!! Congratulations!!!!!!

A Happy Belated Birthday!!

Pete's birthday was May 5th, Cinco De Mayo...I had a barbecue for him with some close friends. Took some pictures and then lost my camera for a few weeks...so without further ado, here are some pictures from that day. Happy Birthday Honey!!!

Montauk with the boys

Pete and I took the boys to Montauk this past weekend. It was Pete's vacation and we decided to take the boys out of school Thursday and Friday and then spend the rest of the week alone out in Montauk. Well, unfortunately, the weather didn't exactly cooperate on the days we had the boys out. It was cold, cloudy, nasty and even rained :( bummer.....there's not much to do in Montauk when it rains. So....we watched some TV, came up with creative games to play etc...On Thursday, the boys did get to play out on the beach. Pete helped them dig huge holes and took long walks together. On Thursday, there was a glimmer of 'sun' at the very end of the day and we actually dug our hole on the beach and Pete and the boys set up the bon-fire. We all sat together and toasted marshmallows and made our Smores - YUM!!! Nothing like melted chocolate on a crispy graham cracker with toasted marshmallows....it was a magical night...the boys all sat around with their big sticks giggling at how burnt they could get their marshmallows. I sat back in silence and watched my boys enjoy themselves, having fun and actually 'talking' with each other. It was an awesome night! The boys went home and then Pete and I enjoyed the rest of the weekend together. We spent all day Saturday on the beach enjoying the sun that finally decided to show it's face. Had dinner at Gosman's which I think is a bit over rated. Nevertheless, we just enjoyed being in the moment and being together. Thanks Pete for an amazing weekend. You mean everything to me!!

And one more makes 6...well almost!!!!!!

Yesterday I was sitting with Ryan studying his science words when Kevin arrived at the front door. "MOM!!!! Look what I found!!!!"...I jumped out of my chair to see him standing at the front door with a dog...yes, a dog...that he found running through our neighborhood. "Can we keep him??? PPPPLLLLEEEAAAASSSEEEE!!!!!!" After about a 1/2 hour of being on the phone to locate the owner, I had to run to get Nicholas from a friends house. We took the dog in the car with us for a ride. He was the cutest, most cuddly little dog. He is a mini-pincher..who won't grow to be any bigger than the size that he is...that little dog, who by the way the kids had already named "Dozer" actually fell asleep on Kevin's lap! When we returned home a couple of minutes later, the owner was waiting at the house. Needless to say, he was grateful as he had only brought the dog home the day before!! The kids were heartbroken that we had to give him back. They were already fighting over whose room "Dozer" was going to be sleeping in! All is well that ends well....we are going to "LOOK" next weekend at the dog shelter in Smithtown...just to "SEE" what kinds of dogs are there.....wish me luck!!!!!!

The Amazing New Yankee Stadium!

Well, it finally happened, at the age of 41, I FINALLY went to my first Yankee game! Pete suprised me with tickets for the May 6th game against Tampa Bay. He is sooo good to me!! We sat in section 320a..right behind home plate and up one section. So close in fact that you just wanted to reach out and grab...well, you know what I mean!! The stadium is just beautiful and Pete and I had an amazing time! Here are some pictures....

Happy Mother's Day!

A friend of mine, who by the way just became a mom again after almost 12 years, sent me this beautiful poem about being a mother. I laughed, cried and smiled while reading the words. So to all my friends who are moms and to my #1 mother, this is for you. Hope you all have an amazing Mother's Day! I love you all!

Before I was a Mom

I never tripped over toys

or forgot words to a lullaby.

I didn't worry whether or not

my plants were poisionous,

I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,

I had never been puked on,

Pooped on,

Chewed on,

Peed on.

I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.

I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,

I never held down a screaming child

so doctors could do tests.

Or give shots.

I never looked into teary eyes and cried.

I never got gloriously happy over a simple grim.

I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,

I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put him down.

I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.

I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.

I never knew that I could love someone so much.

I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,

I didn't know the feeling of

having my heart outside my body...

I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.

I didn't know that bond

between a mother and her child.

I didn't know that something so small

could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,

I had never gotten up in the middle of the night to make sure all was okay.

I had never known the warmth

the joy,

the love,

the heartache,

the wonderment

or the satisfaction of being a Mom....

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!!!