Kindergarten Anxiety

Well, the time has come for our little Grace to be off to kindergarten. In many ways I can't believe where the time has gone, but I also know she is ready for this next phase of her life! We met her teacher briefly last week and then had a 30 minute orientation with her teacher today.

I have asked her how she is feeling and she says "excited" and "a little nervous". I told her that all the kids will be a little nervous. Of course what I haven't told her is now nervous I am. In my heart I know that she will do great, make wonderful friends, and soak up everything there is to learn. But I still worry about the little things - who will be her new friends? who will she sit next to at lunch? will she like her teacher? how will she do at "extended day" after school is over? Ahhh - so many questions and they will all be answered soon!

So, Wednesday is the big day - stay tuned for pictures and stories about the first day of school!

Time for a dance party!

It's been a busy week! There hasn't really been anything in particular, just seems like everything was scheduled for this week - dental appointments, seminars for work, open house at Grace's school, etc.

So, what do I do to relieve the stress?! Have a dance party in our living room! I ask the girls if they want to have a dance party and Grace usually says "yes!" and disappears for a few minutes only to come down from her room in a leotard and a fancy skirt that Aunt Erin bought her - it is a great "spinning skirt"! Bruno will sometimes join us but he has other ways of relieving his stress that don't involve dancing (I think it has something to do with bench pressing 500 lbs or something like that).

Then we turn on the TV and tune in to our XM radio (through Direct TV). We prefer the "20 on 20" station which plays the top 20 requested hits. And then we just let loose! It is so fun and even Abigail is getting into it - she loves to be spun around and bounced up and down. She is also starting to bob up and down if she is sitting or standing when the music is on. Nothing like her cousin Owen who was dancing the day he was born - not sure if he still likes to dance but he always loved to bop up and down when he was a baby!

Anyway - given the stress I am feeling over Grace starting kindergarten (that requires a whole other blog post next week) - I have a feeling we may have many dance parties this weekend!

Have a great weekend everyone and consider hosting your very own dance party!

Michigan Vacation

We spent last week in Michigan and had a fabulous vacation! My mom and dad are a tremendous help with Grace and Abigail and the girls just love their Jamma and Poppy! We love sitting on their screened-in porch eating dinner and chatting for hours after the kids are asleep. We ate a lot of Michigan-farm-fresh corn (there is nothing like it) and had a few drinks - it was so relaxing!

My mom and dad watched the girls for two nights so that Bruno and I could have our own vacation in Saugatuck. We love the little town on Lake Michigan - great food, shops, bars and a gorgeous beach! We loved not having to be watching the clock and enjoyed late dinners and sleeping in! (Anyone with little ones knows that you always have to be mindful of when the next meal or nap will be and many times have to make your plans around them. And there is no such thing as sleeping in with two little children around.)

We can't thank my parents enough for giving us a break from the everyday routine that parents of two kids juggle. We know they didn't sleep much (thanks to Abigail being close to getting her two front teeth) and we know they were probably exhausted each night after they put the kids to bed. But we also know they cherish the time with their grandkids since they don't get to see them all the time. Grace loved her vacation with Jamma and Poppy and wished that we could have stayed away longer - maybe next year!

The most important development is that Nolan was able to come home a few days before we arrived. He is just adorable and growing bigger and bigger by the day. Unfortunately, he has had some issues with reflux and sleeping so there have been some long days and nights trying to make him comfortable. Erin's mom has been an amazing help to them, staying with them during the week to help Erin out during the day and with taking care of Nolan at night. My mom and dad have also been a huge help with watching Owen, making meals and visiting Ryan and Erin as much as they can to help out with Nolan. Ryan and Erin are blessed to have such wonderful family and friends who have been so helpful during this stressful, and at times, exhausting, stage. Through the exhaustion and stress, none of us forget that new babies are such a miracle!

Here are some other pictures from our vacation in MI!

Holding my precious nephew Nolan for the first time.

Bruno holding his precious nephew Nolan for the first time.

Abigail watching Grace and Owen play - soon enough she will be trying to keep up with them!


The three kids having fun in Owen's backyard!

Celebrating 50 years of love

This weekend we went to Massachusetts to celebrate my Aunt Mary and Uncle Bob's 50th wedding anniversary! What a monumental ocassion to share with our family.

On August 1, 1959, Mary O'Connor and Bob DeMattio were married at St. Ambrose Church in Detroit, Michigan. Fifty years later, we celebrated that special day in their lives and honored their deep commitment to love and marriage. There were about 30 of us who shared the day with them - all family.

The day was filled with joy beginning with a mass in which they were honored. Then it was on to brunch at their house. Then most of the family went to Kate and Tim's beautiful home on the water in Weymouth. We had a fabulous lunch and a gorgeous view to enjoy. Then the crew went to Patty and Chris' beautiful home in Topsfield. Mary and Bob's children and their spouses hosted the incredible party. A great deal of planning and preparation went in to making the day extremely special and Kate, Tim, Patty, Chris, Mike and Heatherly certainly succeeded!

After dinner, several people offered stories about Mary and Bob from their younger years. Evyerone had different stories to share but the themes were the same: Mary and Bob have been an inspiration to all those whose lives they have touched. Their deep love and commitment to each other is evident to all those who they know and love.

I have always respected the O'Connor women, Mimi's daughters, Mary, Pat, Nora and my mom, for their commitment to love but also their strong independence. These are women who take vacations without their husbands, who play bridge and have other hobbies without their husbands, and who enjoy plays and movies without their husbands. But in the end, they love their husbands unconditionally and with strong commitment. I have always admired and respected this in my mom and aunts. I think these days this is probably more common place - girls get-away-weekends, girls nights out, etc. But when my aunts and mom were just married, this certainly must have been going against the grain of the norm. Mimi and grandpa John instilled a great deal of confidence in these women and, at the same time, must have been an inspriation to them of how to have a loving marriage!

What a fabulous weekend to be surrounded by family and unconditional love! While we all wish we could see each other more often and live closer to one another, we all recognize that when we do get together, it's as if no time has passed. And we cherish every minute of that time together.

Congratulations to Aunt Mary and Uncle Bob - may your lives continue to be blessed with the love and support of your dear family!