A couple of Abby stories

Well, I just have a couple of Abby stories but really just wanted an excuse to post this picture of Abby from this morning.

Awww - isn't she so cute! 

The other day we were eating chicken with rice.  Many times we have steak with rice and we serve it with soy sauce.  So Abby asked for soy sauce with her chicken and rice.  Then she kept saying that she wanted "black chicken".  We could not figure out what she wanted but finally decided that "black chicken" meant that she wanted "steak".  We were all laughing - except for Abby who was disappointed that she couldn't have "black chicken"!

Last weekend Abby was napping (or so I thought).  We were outside working on the yard (it's possible we violated some law or parenting rule that probably stipulates that under no circumstances should you leave a 2 1/2 year old alone in a house even if you are immediately outside - what can I say - we are wild and crazy like that).  I came in the basement door at one point and looked up to see Abby standing at the top of the stairs.  You should know she is still in a crib so I was quite surprised to see her!  She said very quietly "hi mama".  I asked "what did you do?" and then she got a big smile on her face and said very proudly "oh, I climbed out of my crib"!  She then proceeded to show me how she did it.  I knew this day would come and I actually thought it would have happened much sooner as she loves to climb.  So very soon we will be off to buy a "big girl bed".

Twenty-six Years

Twenty-six years is a long time to do anything.  And these days, it is an extremely long time to work at one place.  My mom just celebrated her retirement from her company where she worked for twenty-six years!  We are so proud of her! She worked her way up from part-time case manager to President/CEO.  WOW!  It was quite a ride of ups and downs but she went out on a high note. 

We had the pleasure of attending her retirement party last weekend.  So many employees came up to me and said how much they were going to miss my mom... what an inspiration she had been to them... how much she cared about the employees... and what a great mentor and leader she was.  Of course I was not surprised but it always nice to hear things from others about how wonderful your mom is. 

So, on this day, two days before Mother's Day... I congratulate my mom for the tremendous accomplishments she has made over the past twenty-six years.  What an amazing role model she has been for me.  I know that while she enjoyed the challenges of her position, she is going to love being retired.  I already have her lined up to help two different times this summer with the girls.  And the lake house is almost done.  In a few weeks, she'll be sitting on the deck with my dad, sipping some wine and looking out at the gorgeous view.  She and my dad worked hard for that view and now she can sit there and not have to check her work email!  Congratulations mom and happy Mother's Day to the most wonderful mom!

For posterity sake, here is my speech that I gave at her party.

So I have to go back about 26 years ago to start this speech.

It was dinnertime and my mom said “I need to talk to you and Ryan about something. I have decided to go back to work part time. And that means that some things may change a little around here.” We both stared at her and then looked at each other. This could only mean one thing – we would certainly have to do more chores!

We had always heard stories of our mom working in the ER at St. John’s in downtown Detroit or in the slightly less stressful office environment for Dr. Fortino.  But she told us that she wasn’t going to be a nurse in an office again. She told us she would be a caseworker for Recovery Unlimited. We had no idea what that meant but in a small, young teenager way we were kinda/sorta proud of her (once we got passed having to do more work around the house).

Over the next few years, we visited her little basement office on West Saginaw Street and then at her new office in Okemos.  We saw her start picking up more hours and taking on more responsibility. She started getting promoted. Clearly, in our minds, we were most proud of her accomplishment to properly use a map of Michigan (remember, this was pre-GPS).

When I was in college, I put in my own time at Recovery Unlimited. She trusted me greatly and assigned me to some incredibly challenging projects – filing, data entry, and the occasional mail duty.

But it was during that time in the office that I came to realize the respect that others had for my mom. And I started to look at her in a new light.

Bruno and I have two daughters who many of you met this afternoon. Grace is seven and the perfect age for asking her what she wants to be when she grows up. I have told her stories that when her grandma was younger, most women only had a few choices to pick from: nurse or teacher and maybe a nun if you were Catholic.

But because of all the women who have cleared the path before me and certainly before Grace, and for those who broke the preverabial glass ceilings, we can now tell Grace that she can be whatever she wants. And we can mean it.

So today, we celebrate my mom’s 26 years of commitment to a company – 26 years of believing in a company that struggled through some very challenging times, 26 years of taking the road less traveled and paving new paths and 26 years of making this company a better place than it was when she started as a caseworker.

Thank you for being a role model to me, to Grace and Abby, and to so many others within this company.

Easter and the White House

I am so behind on my posts but we have been doing a lot of traveling lately!  So I'll start first with Easter.  We went to Massachusetts and had such a wonderful time. Grace and Abby love seeing their Nana and Grandpa, Auntie and Uncle and adorable little Ava, as well as all of our other family there. 

Auntie Maurilia is so thoughtful and always has little projects for the girls to do and to keep them entertained!  We colored eggs, made cupcakes, made bunny and chick plates, colored, etc.  The girls had so much fun together.  Ava and Abby are only 2 months apart and they played so well together.  Grace loved being the oldest - and telling the little ones what to play.  Not sure how long that will last before they gang up on her but they love playing with Grace now.

We had a terrible time getting back to Virginia from Providence because of weather but that happens sometimes.  Abby had 2 epic screaming meltdowns on the plane.  We were "that" family with the screaming child.  Oh well - not much you can do about it.

Then on Monday, we were able to go to the White House Egg Roll.  Bruno has taken Grace the past two years so Abby and I were excited to go this year.  There are a lot of lines and so many people, but it is quite amazing be standing just steps from the White House and spending part of the afternoon on the West Lawn!

Here are some pictures from the weekend.

There is something so cute about kids looking for eggs!

Abby is closely scrutinizing this egg!

I LOVE this picture of our adorable niece Ava!

Making pretty eggs!

Having fun at the New Bedford Whaling Museum.

Waiting in line for the White House.  It was so warm - almost 90 degrees! Which is why Abby isn't dressed very fancy - ha!

The famous White House Egg Roll!

Thought it was cute to see the prior years that Bruno and Grace went to the White House.

2009

2010

2011