Happy 4th Birthday Abby!

Impromptu celebration where we were lucky to have all of the immediate family (minus two pop-pops who were missed!) over for cake and ice cream to celebrate Abby's 4th birthday! 

Pre-K orientation

Abby had pre-k orientation today. I can't even believe she's four and will be riding the bus this year! She hit the jackpot with Miss Christina as her teacher. We are so excited for her and she can't wait to start! 

30 weeks 2 days

She's doing great! I'm still being monitored for high blood pressure. Regular OB appointments start occurring every two weeks and I start non-stress tests mid-September at the ATU with another growth ultrasound. Hopefully all goes well and she stays put for quite a while longer. Oh, and we have a name for her!!! 

Tonight my heart is full

So I stink at blogging, but I've realized instead of blogging I have been doing and being part of my kids' lives. I have tons to update but I just had to write this memory down. 

Tonight Aidan was watching the Countdown to the Special Olympics. He is so compassionate and accepting of everyone and while he's curious, he is sure to ask questions in a way that is not hurtful, but thoughtful. He gets it that deep down we are all people. We are all different but even people that may have had a label can do awesome things and have the same interests as him--especially sports. 

Aidan had the opportunity to come with me to work on Take Your Child to Work Day this year. Tonight he asked if he could come to my school again  and said he wanted to help out my students just like last year. That melted my heart. 

I hope he never loses his compassion, wonder, and understanding and always has a desire to help others.  

Bedtime prayers

Proud mom brag...

Aidan can independently say:

Now I lay me...

Our Father

Hail Mary

Glory Be

And even more impressive, Abby can say these independently:

Now I lay me...

Our Father

And with minimal substituted words that sound correct, the Hail Mary. She's working on learning the Glory Be. 

I love our nightly routine of saying prayers at bedtime. Abby doesn't always want to say them on her own, but is almost always there and listening when Aidan says them. 

Now we need to work on having more family dinners and saying grace before meals. 

I love my kids. 

Happy Halloween

Halloween costume #1 for Abbygirl was Snow White. Aidan was Shredder from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They were so excited. Just as we were ready to go out, Abby wanted a wardrobe change into Cinderella. 

Aidan loves his little sister so much. 

Halloween was fun this year. It was chilly but not as bad as I expected. I brought along the wagon but certainly didn't need it for abby. She was RUNNING to each house and was so excited about the whole process. Her shy personality took the night off for sure. Aidan also had a great time. It's crazy to think that soon he will be doing this with a big group of his friends and not just Abby and I, and Lauren, Madison, and Aubrey. 

It was also bittersweet thinking about how this is the last Halloween in this house. Today our house officially went on the market. It's absolutely crazy to think that next Halloween we will be walking around a different neighborhood. Oh, the emotions! 

This will always be our first home. The place we brought our babies home from the hospital to. The place we made a countless number of memories in. Memories we will bring with us to the next home. Because home isn't really a house, it's the people in it.

Abby is 3!

Three. I can't even believe it. It's hard to believe she'll be riding a bus to pre-k at the public school next year, so I am holding on to her three year old year as long as I can! Abby is lovable, caring, funny, silly, and very strong-willed. She loves to sing and dance, play with her dolls and Barbies (yay for Barbies! I can't wait to share mine with her), and play outside. She refuses to accept that Aidan is bigger and can do things she can't, so she tries her hardest to keep up with him. She's a go-getter and independent when she really wants something, but she still loves to snuggle up and be held. She's something wonderful. 

Aidan's 1st Lost Tooth!

Aidan lost his first tooth today. It's been wiggly for a while but it finally came out. After further inspection, the ones to the right and left of the space are also wiggly now. Soon he will lose two more! I can't believe my little guy lost a tooth!

Pretty girl

My Motivation

Abby & Aidan. 

My motivation. 

My reason to be healthy. 

Just recently I joined the Mullica Hill Women's Tri Club. Never in a million years would I have thought I would join a tri club let alone sign up for two OPEN WATER swims!!! Nor did I ever think I would run a 5k race, but I proved myself wrong two years ago this month. 

This spring and summer is going to be filled with many firsts for me. First time swimming laps in a pool. First time swimming in a lake. First time swimming in the ocean (I don't even do this on vacation!). First time swimming in a race. First time riding a road bike. First time going on group bike rides. First time racing on a bike. First time running after I have done a swim and a bike ride right before. And those are just the beginning!!! 

I want to do this for my kids. I want to be healthy for them. I want more energy, more confidence, and to show them that if you put your mind to it and your heart into it, you can do it. 

I want to be brave for my kids. I want to show them that even though they may be scared to do something they should at least try. And I'm hoping with the support of my family, friends, and new friends in the club, I'll be able to face some fears and complete a triathalon or two this year. 

Bed time stories

2014

I would love to live by some of these resolutions this year: 

Skiing 1.12.14

Drove up to Jack Frost Mountain today to ski with Steph, Lesia, Chrissy, Connor, and Brian. I'm so glad I did! I was a little rusty to start but then had a great time. 

Snow day!

Yesterday the snow fell again! Today is our second snow day off of school of the 2014 year. We had an early dismissal yesterday and made it a popcorn and movie night. We watched Frozen. It was another great Disney movie. Then today, among other things, Aidan and Abby have done puzzles, played educational computer games, had a snack or two, swam in the tub, and tried camping out for nap time. Of course there was some bickering in there too! 

random Q&A

What is your road trip essential snack?

Chewy candy, like Swedish Fish or Twizzlers (though I avoid the Twizzlers as much as I can since Sean almost needed to give me the Heimlich on our way home from Hilton Head)

You've been handed two free round-trip tickets...who are you taking and where are you going?

Hawaii with Sean. 

What was your high school jam?

Ha, random stuff, like the Thong Song.

Would you rather have a perfect bum, or a flawless face?

I'll go face because at least I get to hide my bum under fabric.

What shows are you ashamed to admit are on your DVR?

Little People Big World and Long Island Medium. TLC is one of the few channels I know and should really try to broaden my horizons. 

What's your ringtone?

Uplift - chosen straight from the iPhone 5 setlist. 

How old were you when you had your first kiss? Was it meh or toe-curling?
I think I was in sixth grade? It was completely meh.

Do you have any siblings, and if so, where are you in the birth order.

I am the oldest. Steph is the middle child and Darren the baby.

What physical quirk were you born with?

My ears are not exactly alike...and the right one has a small hole that looks like a piercing but it's been there since birth.

What was your first car, and did you name it?

An old Buick Regal. And no, I have never named my cars.

What would you request for your last supper?

Mac and cheese and mashed potatoes with gravy...and of course a biscuit on the side. I'd need comfort food. 

Have you ever been hospitalized, and if so, what for?

Yes, first for the failed induction which led to c-section for Aidan's birth and recovery. A few months later I was hospitalized with an intestinal virus. Most recently it was for a planned c-section for Abby's birth and recovery. 
How tall are you? Do you wish you were taller, shorter...or are you just right?

I'm 5'4" and pretty happy where I am though another inch would be nice.

Do you prefer to DIY or hire it out?

Hire it out, but we rarely do that.

What do you eat for breakfast?

Does a cup of coffee count? Sometimes yogurt or a mini bagel during the week.

What would you do for a living if you didn't need money?

I would get certified to do equine therapy with special needs individuals. And I'd make a schedule that would allow me to be more involved with my kids as a stay at home mom.  

Finish this sentence: Every room needs....

something comfortable.

How frequently do you wash your hair? Do you have any hair secrets or tricks?

Every day. I wish I had secrets or tricks then I wouldn't wear a ponytail all the time.

Will you leave the house without makeup?

I'd prefer not too...especially mascara. 

You just unloaded your Halloween haul...what candy do you go for first?

Twizzlers, Dots, Nerds.

What totally inane talent do you possess?

Good question...I'll have to think about this. 

Adorable!

Aren't they the cutest?! Here's an updated pic of Aidan & Abby. It's been forever since I've updated on here, but now that they are older it's easy to get busy with doing things instead of being on the computer. The days of newborn naps and even two naps a day are gone. They're busy and active all the time. And when they aren't, I'm usually cuddling with Aidan or snuggling with Abby on the couch (Yes, those are the terms they each use for the same exact thing!)

My thoughts on life right now:
It's crazy busy right now, but it's also so fun. 
Abby is so much more talkative than Aidan was at 2.
Aidan is loving school and learning new things...and buying lunch! 
Sean continues to be awesome, especially dealing with my stress-induced mood swings. 

A Wonderful Woman

I've been meaning to post this for a while now, and I'm even going to back date it so it falls into place, but this is the magnificent eulogy that Sean's aunt wrote to Sean's grandmother that tells all about her. This is special and I hope that Aidan and Abby will know what a wonderful woman she was. 

Today is a very sad day for we have to say goodbye to Marie, the loving wife and best friend of Bill and great mom to her five children John, Nancy, Frances, Rosemary, and Bill. 

I want to give tribute to my mom today because her life – how she lived it and what she did with her talents is a testament of the kind of life God wants for all of us. And I want to share some memories of my mom that exemplify the character of the special person we all so deeply loved.

- Marie entered this world close to midnight on December 12th, 1926. Her parents, Mary and James Kelly, were especially thrilled at her arrival as they had lost their first child, James, at birth, three years earlier. I remember my grandmother telling me that my grandfather was so excited about my mother’s birth that he ran all the way from the hospital to their house in the snow to share the good news with their family – it was after midnight and the trolleys were no longer running. She was joined two years later by her sister, Anna Marie completing the family.

- Philadelphia was Marie’s first home. She was shaped by her catholic elementary and all girl catholic high school education and was a good student – my grandmother told the story that my mother used to plop her report card on the table and run out to play –and leave my grandmother to open her report card of A’s alone – my mom was like that!

- Marie considered herself a city girl -- comfortable on the trolley, and loved going to the dances they had in Philly back then. In January of 1949 she met my dad, who would become as she told him one night toward the end of her life “the star of her life”. She could tell you the dress she wore that night and the song that was playing when they danced. She was not sure of the impression she was making with that first dance as apparently towards the end of the song my father said something to the effect that “it was a very long song”

- But she must have made a good impression as they went on to have a remarkable marriage – one forged in true friendship and equal partnership -- a great model for their children, grandchildren and nieces and nephews of the power and joy a strong marriage can provide you in life. My parents life together took them to many places – first to Delaware as newlyweds, then NJ as a young family, and even London, England, which was life changing for all of us but maybe most for my mom -- who at 43, left her beloved Blackwood NJ, and large circle of friends with 5 kids in tow – to return four years later to all her friends and family and a new set of Irish, Scottish and English friends who they would see many times in their trips back to England and Ireland over the remaining years of her life. My mom and dad spent the last 37 years of their life together in Virginia and in the end I think my mom actually felt Virginia measured up to Philadelphia, and Blackwood NJ as her favorite places on earth.

- While my mother’s life had many blessings, she also endured one of the most unbearable pains life can present -- the loss of her daughter Rosemary – the four years of my sister’s illness and her death at 30 changed my mother forever – she was able to get back some of her previous joi-de-vie –her faith, husband, friends and family helped immensely – but those who knew her best knew that there was still a pain in her heart and sadness that would never go away completely.

There are many things that made my mom special but four themes permeate her long purposeful life:

- First was her faith in a benevolent God – Marie had a very personal relationship with God as both her savior and friend. Her faith gave her the strength needed to survive the terrible tragedy of my sister’s death and also to cope with the many dangers that having a husband in law enforcement involved. Faith also played a big part in having and raising five kids – my mom was a bit of a worrier and without her faith, I think the anxieties involved in her many years of parenting and grand parenting would have been overwhelming.

- Second, and the most obvious to those who knew my mom was her belief that you could never have too many friends. I have never known anyone who made more true friends than my mom – Marie had this extraordinary gift of connecting with people, a generous spirit and also the gift of gab –she made you feel special because to her you were – genuinely special. I would venture to say many of you here today have something from my mom -- a sweater she made, a scarf, a card, -- my mom liked to give things to people to show she cared – and she said “I love you” often – she was like that!
Marie also loved to entertain and celebrate. - -from England to Wildwood, first communions, weddings, graduations, baptisms, you name it – Marie was always a key part of the celebration. One summer, my dad worked in NY City and we spent that summer up in Long Branch NJ in a dilapidated old beach house. Over that summer we counted having over 100 guests visit us and stay for a week or more – all in less than three months!
As the years moved on, my mother gladly assumed the matriarch role in the large Collins’ family – representing the greatest generation at all family events. And even at her sickest, towards the end of her life, she still was making friends, telling her nurses and doctors how pretty they were, how good they were at their job and how much she appreciated their help.

- Third was her confidence and strength of principle. It was a very important part of her character and, although understated, permeated her very being. I remember one story in particular when my mother was a young women that I think exemplifies this – she was probably 21 at the time and was the medical secretary to the Chief of Orthopedic Surgery at University of Pennsylvania Hospital. Her boss was a renown elderly southern surgeon who, sadly, like many of his generation held racist views. When she first arrived on the job, she was instructed to seat African American patients outside the waiting room in the hallway. My mother refused to do this and from the start began seating all patients in the waiting room. When questioned by her boss about this she told him, without any hesitation, she would not do what he instructed. The office policy was changed as a result of my mother’s strong sense of doing what was right. What’s most compelling was the fact that my mother, although more than 40 years younger than her boss, had the courage of principle to stand up to someone who most people would have been terribly intimidated by == and she did it in a way that she maintained a cordial relationship with the Dr. until his death 15 years later.

- The fourth, and maybe the most central theme in my mother’s adult life was her desire to be a good mother and wife. If asked, she would have told you being a wife and mother was her vocation and truly believed it was what she was put on this earth to be. About a year ago – when my mother’s dementia had progressed to the point she was not talking much, I asked her what had been the best day of her life – “the day your father proposed marriage to me”, she said without hesitation. She loved being my dad’s wife and my dad will tell you, also without hesitation, that her saying yes to his proposal was the best thing that ever happened to him.

And we, her children also will tell you she was a great mom and told her often in the last few years of her life – and we each have our memories of mom instilling her special mothering skills on us --
- For John it involved the London tube – shortly after our arrival in England where he left us all standing on the train tracks.
- Frances’ is from first grade and involved my mother’s coming up with a song we all can still recount to this day – “what is the word the word is what?”
- Bill’s had to do with his being late in getting college applications in and my mom driving him to the general post office to ensure he got his app in on time – let’s just say she was not happy with Bill on that drive.
- And mine, well one I remember involved a sassy 19 year old telling her mother she was jealous she was not 19 anymore – let’s just say my mom’s look in response convinced me that she knew something that I did not yet know – and that was that she had made her choices in life, was very happy with them and I would be lucky to be where she was when I reached her age!

And so today as we say goodbye to our mom, our wife, our grand mom, our sister, our aunt and our dear friend, we do it with sadness but also with the happiness of having had the opportunity to share our life with you.

Marie, we love you and are proud to call you all of these things – say hi to Rosey and all our friends and relatives as you enjoy your eternal reward that God has in store for you.

LOVE

This is the love I dreamed of when hoping for children. This is the love I dreamed of when hoping for a sibling for Aidan. This is the love that I am blessed enough to see every day. This is the love that fills your heart and makes you happy and complete. 

Abby girl...

Oh Abby girl. In just two short months you'll be two years old. Mommy is in complete denial and stalling on planning your birthday party. I just can't believe it. You are so adorable and smart and we are all so very proud of you. My very favorite thing you are saying right now is "I love you too mom" after I tell you I love you. You are so interested in talking and love to repeat us, but this came spontaneously and it was marvelous. It absolutely melts my heart. 

My thoughts on life right now:

I love you so very much. 

Golf

Well, today I golfed my first full round of 18 holes of golf. And it was ugly. Haha. I shot a 129, and thankfully I can't remember what par is at Beckett, but it's lower than 100! But, the good news is I had a lot of fun and was in great company of Sean, Meagan, and Colby. The boys didn't do well either, so Meg and I didn't feel terrible about how poorly we played but the guys certainly did. Amazingly I had a ball skip right across the water and bounce uphill, and then shortly after that I followed up with losing a ball in a different pond. I hit a few trees along the way too. But when I'm used to playing a course as nice as Valleybrook every Wednesday night after golf lessons with the girls, shooting a 129 on a much less maintained course is to be expected (or so I keep telling myself that). 

My thoughts on life right now:

Fun times today. I can imagine our foursome 20 years from now spending time golfing.