Just Thinkin'

It's 8 o'clock on a gorgeous Saturday morning. The birds chirping, the sun shining, the Backyardigans singing in the background. Cin and the babies are sleeping and I start thinking. Nothing too deep, just that I love my life.

With all its' craziness, my life is good. It's exactly what I wanted it to be. And I was reminded of that as I sat here and looked through some pictures I took this week.

I used to take a lot of pictures. Ya know, 1st baby, changing every day. It's fun. Then, for some reason, I stopped. Then we had a hell of a year - Cin was in and out of the hospital for her back and related issues, then surgery, recovery, then we were trying to get pregnant again, then we did, then I was sick the whole time. So, needless to say, the camera barely saw the light of day for about a year.

But since I was coerced into Blogland, I have taken a lot of pictures. After all, a post with pictures is much more interesting.

Anyway, here are the pictures that reminded me of just how lucky I am.

Some Angels Have No Wings

This weekend was amazing. It was filled with family, friends, love and craziness. Thanks to all our angels for getting us through and sharing our joy.

Yesterday our twins were Christened. We feel blessed to have found our church and to be members of a very special congregation. We made a couple special requests, which were, of course, honored by our minister and everything went off without a hitch. The service was beautiful and emotional. The twins were perfectly still during the entire service and Olivia was a perfect little angel. She sat with us quietly, listening to the minister as he spoke and stood next to us at the altar as the twins were blessed. We were so proud of her.
Here is the reading we requested for the service. It was read by Cin's brother, who is Emma's godfather.
It is from "The Prophet" by Kahlil Gibran
And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, "Speak to us of Children."
And he said:
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts.
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit,not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.

Then there was the party. We had everyone back to the house for brunch and we were lucky to have a beautiful sunny day. My brother and his partner whipped up a few culinary delights, as always; several types of quiche - spinach, mushroom and Lorraine - delicious! They also brought shrimp the size of lobsters for shrimp cocktail - yummmmm! Unlike most other occasions, we contributed a few dishes ourselves; fresh smoked salmon on pumpernickel appy bread with sour cream and Tabasco sauce (my favorite), cold tortellini with broccoli (recipe is a secret, though Cin's niece "helped" me - mum's the word, Jacqui), Spring mix salad with mandarin oranges and toasted almonds (yup-toasted 'em myself), and the requisite cold cut platter, which I reluctantly (yet with love) made myself. I tried to order a platter on Friday, but was unable to get a clear answer as to how much I was actually getting.

Here's how that conversation went...
Me: I need a cold cut platter for Sunday.
Grumpy Deli Lady: (pointing to the Master Choice Platter) This one feeds 16- 24 people. You get Ham, Roast Beef, Turkey, American and Swiss cheese.
Me: Perfect. How much?
Grumpy Deli Lady: $79.99
Me: Wow, seems like a lot.
Grumpy Deli Lady: You also get 2 lbs of 2 different salads - which ones do you want?
Me: I don't want salads - can't I just get the meat and cheese.
Grumpy Deli Lady: No, it comes with it, it's free.
Me: I'm sure it's not free, it's part of the price, no?
Grumpy Deli Lady: No, it comes with it, it's free.
Me: Uh......(I am unable to argue this point - too illogical)
Grumpy Deli Lady: You want it?
Me: How much of each meat and cheese is on the platter?
Grumpy Deli Lady: Dunno.
Me: Whaddaya mean? How do you know how much meat to put on?
Grumpy Deli Lady: Dunno - they just put the 3 types of meat on and the 2 cheeses.
Me: Whaddaya mean? Who does it?
Grumpy Deli Lady: Whoever is doing platters that morning.
Me: Well, how much of each meat and cheese does the person cut - a pound, 2 pounds?
Grumpy Deli Lady: Dunno.
Me: Uh...Forget it. (again - can't argue the illogical).
So I walked out - meatless, cheeseless.

Saturday was dreary - rainy and dark. We had a lot to do to get ready and Emma was so sick, not eating or peeing, very lethargic. When she wasn't sleeping, she was screaming or groaning. It was a little scary. So we went to the Dr. that morning. She was pretty congested and coughing, but nothing to do for her, except to give her a little Tylenol to relieve any discomfort she may have. My brother and his partner, Hien, were here, and so was Cin's niece, Jacqui. We all spent the day taking turns holding and trying to comfort her. Thank God for all of you! Then my brother and Hien gave us 3 girls an amazing gift - they stayed at the house while all 3 kids napped and we went to get pedicures. THANKS, guys!!!!

Later that night, Jacqui and I went to buy the meat and cheese. Lo and behold, the Grumpy Deli Lady was the only one behind the counter, lights dimmed, broom in hand. I gathered my courage, took a deep breath and started the dance again...
Me: Is the deli closed?
Grumpy Deli Lady: What do you need?
Me: I need a few pounds of coldcuts. Remember? I was here the other day for the platter.
Grumpy Deli Lady: What do you want?
Me: A pound each of turkey, ham and roast beef and 3/4 pound of American and provolone cheeses.
Grumpy Deli Lady: SIGH!
Me: (thinking I might be able to soften her up a bit) Thank you so much, it's for my twins' Christening tomorrow. I really appreciate it.
Grumpy Deli Lady: Grunt!
And so it went. She cut the meats without so much as a word. As she removed the cheese from it's wrapper to begin slicing, a line of 2 more customers formed next to me. Then she lost it. She slammed the cheese onto the slicer and gave use the evil eye. Now I was fearful of becoming headcheese.
She threw the sliced cheeses on the counter and walked away. As I took the cheese down, I noticed there was only .80 lb of the provolone, but was too afraid to remind her that I asked for a pound, so I took my damaged cheese and walked to the front to pay. Jacqui and I giggled about it the whole time, but we were secretly shaking in our boots. When we got to the front, I asked what time the deli closed and they said it was open til at least 10. I thought she was mad b/c she was doing me a favor, but I guess she just didn't want to cut any more meat that night. The nerve! Anyway, we got a good laugh over it and a funny story to tell. However, we did run out of the provolone yesterday.

I digress...back to the party. We decided on Bloody Marys and Mimosas made with Ruby Red grapefruit juice instead of orange juice to wash it all down. Good choices, Cin! The cake was beautiful and very tasty. Good thing there is some left over. Anyway, calories, fat and carbs from leftover Christening cake don't count. Right?

We had a lot of fun and took lots of pictures. Everyone sat around and talked and ate and drank while the kids ran around and played. I love being with our family and friends. They are our blessings, the reasons life is good. So to all of you...
Thank you for making this day so special. We love you!

I have many more pictures, which I will add later, but I thought I'd better post something before I get yelled at.



Proud mommies.....AND.....My brother, 2 squirming babies & me


Proud grandmas.........AND......... Jake's proud Godparents


Cindy's gorgeous niece, Kelly. Olivia is lucky enough to have Kelly for a Godmommy.


Chocolate cake inside with buttercream icing and filling. YUMMY!


This was taken on Friday. Babygirl is posing with her new favorite noisemaker, the Chicken Dance doll. Olivia never lets me put pigails in, so I had to get a picture. This is surely the reason pigtails were invented.

Homemade Presents

My mom used to say that the best gifts and cards she ever got were the ones we made for her. Know I know exactly what she was talking about. I cried like a baby when I got this.

It's an impression of her little hand and the poem reads...

Here is my hand so tiny and small

to hang somewhere upon a wall.

To watch as the years go flying by,

How we grew, my hand and I.

A mother holds a child's hand for a while, but their heart forever.

Mother's Day 2007

Here are some pictures from Mother's Day at Gram's house.

Mommies and babies
Mommy and OG
OG and Uncle Stevie (Cindy's brother - see the resemblance?)
Olivia thought it would be fun to sit in Mommy's new toolbox.

Olivia and her cousin Alex talkin' it over, trying to figure out how to get their hands on more cupcakes.
Cin's brother, Stevie, her niece, Jacqui and me. These 2 will be Jake's Godparents.
Stevie and me - 2 peas in a pod. Secretly, we love each other. Watch out, Cin!
mmmmmmmmm, cupcakes.

The 7 Wonders of Me

OK, so K tagged me and I will now reveal 7 things about myself that you don't already know.
I haven't been blogging for long, so there is still so much to tell. Here goes...

1. I'm bisexual. I'm sure the assumption was that I'm a lesbian because I've made my life with a woman, but, actually, my wife is the 1st and only woman I have ever been with. I dated men my whole life and never really thought about women in a sexual way. But when I met Cindy, we just clicked. I knew this was it. Now everybody get up off the floor and read on.

2. I was a cutter. When I was in my late teens and early 20's, I was still dealing with some "stuff" and found the only way to relieve the pain was to cut. I had been to therapy several times up until then and it never really seemed to help. I'm not sure how I did it, but I managed to heal myself from the inside out and was able to stop that and a few other destructive behaviors.

3. I was adopted. Though she tried many times, my mom couldn't carry a pregnancy to term, so she and my dad adopted my brother, and then me 2 years later. We are not biological siblings, but that never stopped us from fighting like crazy when we were young. It wasn't until my mom died that we were able to really get to know each other and now, I am sorry for all those years we spent not being close. Now I am so grateful that we are true friends. He is an amazing guy and I love him so much.

4. My brother is gay. Isn't that a hoot? Adopted, not biologically related, yet both siblings end up in homosexual relationships. You know my parents are up there asking God if this is some kind of practical joke.

5. I love Christian pop and country music. I know! I know! I can't help myself. No defense.

6. I had a breast reduction when I was 19. I m 5'2" and was a 34DDD. The muscles in my shoulders and back were shot. I played soccer and actually had to tape my breasts down so they wouldn't move. After the surgery I was a perky 34C. NICE! However, 17 years, 1 lumpectomy and 2 pregnancies later, I'm a saggy 34D on the left and a droopy 34C on the right. Maybe one day I'll get them taken care of. Oh, to dream!

7. I was in the Gifted and Talented program in school from 3rd grade until high school. Now, I was never the smart one, that was my brother. But, apparently my teachers knew something my parents didn't. They always told me that my brother was book smart (understatement of grand proportion - he's a genius) and I was "street smart", that I was the one with common sense. Of course, they later recanted that statement when I reached my teens and started doing dumb stuff.

OK, that's it. Now that you know me better, do you still want to be my friend?

Yardwork, Margaritas and Streetfairs

Another wonderful weekend here in the Garden State. The weather was a balmy 70 something on Saturday, great for yardwork and cooler on Sunday, perfect for walking around at the town streetfair.

We started by fixing our fence. With a 120 pound pup who likes to jump up to see over it and 3 kids next door who hang on it like monkeys, it had started to lean. We picked up some Quick-krete, busted out the shovels and started to dig around the posts. Of course, Olivia has her own tools and helped with the shoveling.

We mowed the lawn and weeded. Then it was time to break out the edger I bought last summer but never used. What a freakin' amazing tool! I LOVE my Edgehog!. I am a freak about having a manicured lawn, so I went to town. A first it gave me a fight, but once I was able to harness the power, we were fast friends and my edges were clean and crisp. We also fixed the little fence around the beds along the walk to the patio - it had fallen over last summer and we ignored it each of the thousand times we walked by it for a year. Whatever - we were growing babies, so who cared.

We settled on the patio and grilled up some wings and corn on the cob (again). Our beverage of choice - the lovely Margarita.

After dinner, we lit the chimenea and relaxed. Then off to bed. Perfect.

On Sunday it was off to the Cranford Streetfair. Of course, I forgot to bring my camera, so we had to wait to get home to take pictures of the kids. I missed getting a shot of Olivia on her 1st pony ride (what a loser I am). Guess I'll have to sit her on the dog's back and take a picture. While the twins slept, Olivia had a blast feeding the animals, riding the pony and getting her face painted. By the time we got home, she was pooped and went right for a nap - no arguments. Well, 1st I made her sit outside to take a picture of her butterfly face. Good thing, the nap took it's toll on the paint. You must ignore my hair. I am growing it out and it's in a "stage", a pretty frightening one.

While she slept, I snapped a few of the babies - my how they've grown, like the weeds that are no longer in my lawn.

Life is good when you're living the American dream.

Much Ablog About Nothing

So I've been accused of being a lazy blogger (you know who you are). Perhaps I am. Problem is, the time I would use to blog I seem to use for other things. For example...
Vaccuuming - but why? The floor just gets dirty again.
Dishes - but why? They pileup again in no time.
Cleaning the bathroom - but why? As soon as I turn around, I could gather enough hair from the floor to make a wig, the toilet insists on wearing it's ring, and the glass shower doors - WTF!!!! They just don't ever get clean. Water spots my ass - it's some kind of alien fungus or something.
Laundry - need I say more?

Putting clothes away - but why? I have to pull them out of the drawers again to wear them.

Making dinner - but why? We eat it and it's gone with nothing to show for it, except our big asses. OK, not SO big, but we could stand to lose the baby weight, so skipping a few dinners wouldn't kill us.

Paying bills - but why? They never seem to go away.

Mowing the lawn - but why? The grass just keeps growing.

Weeding - but why? They just come back.

Patching and reseeding my lawn (every F-in' spring and fall) - but why? My bigass dog just runs around the tree like it's a racetrack and tears it to shreds all year long.

Feeding and changing the babies - OK, this I need to do, but they eat more than I do and as soon as the clean diaper is on, the grunting begins, the face gets red and I get a warm load of mush. Perfect timing!

Anyway, you get the point. Or maybe now I get the point. There's always somethng else I could be doing, but blogging is more fun!