God has a sense of humor, right?

The other night, while we were praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet with the kids, Eamon went and got Phil's pajama pants and put them "on".

Then he began dancing around us as we tried to finish praying without laughing. Of course, we failed miserably ;)

God made him special...that's for sure!

Gratituesday: LaSalette

Last weekend, we all went to the Shrine at LaSalette to see all the beautiful Christmas lights display. This place is awesome, and it's a yearly tradition for our family. We like to go right after Thanksgiving so it's not freezing out yet, and it gets us into the Christmas spirit.

The kids are always delighted to see the 300,000 lights and since it is a Catholic shrine, the emphasis is on the true meaning of Christmas, so a Nativity takes center stage, not Santa.

Here's some pictures of the evening:

This is a view from across the pond at the Rosary walk. Mary is the statue lit up in the center. And below is Mary up close. Although Eamon did call her a Native American :)

I think if these trees were closer together and a little smaller, this would make such a cute Christmas card!

The next two pictures are of Eamon and then Maggie sitting on the donkey with Mary while a statue of Joseph leads the way. We always sit the little kids right up there with Mary and snap a picture before we get in trouble!

My parents came along too, and everyone posed in front of the Nativity.

(Eamon is making friends with the random little boy next to him)

Don't be sad, Mary, it's your feast day today!

A Tarnished Tiger

I was listening to the radio this morning as they talked about Tiger Woods scandal. And yes, it IS a scandal.

The co-hosts were discussing whether or not they were surprised to find out that Tiger had cheated on his wife:

Mr. Radio Man said (I'm paraphrasing) "Well if you had asked me a week ago, I would've been shocked, but now this has become they new norm for Tiger. He's a cheater." Ms. Radio Woman said "I agree, c'mon he's a professional athlete...we shouldn't be shocked that he's not faithful to his wife."

Are they for real? Does nobody remember their marriage vows? The promise to be faithful...in good times and bad...for better or for worse. Who cares if he is a professional athlete or a truck driver, he is still a MARRIED man!

She continued: "However I am shocked that he was so sloppy about the whole thing. I mean, if you're gonna cheat on your wife, you at least pick women who don't work the club scene, aren't in it for the money, and can keep a secret. And don't call them and text them from your cell phone."

What?!?! SO now we're going to say that he picked the wrong women to have affairs. How about that is was wrong that he picked ANY woman at all to have an affair?

Mr. Radio Man added, "I watch golf all the time, and I'm not surprised their marriage didn't last. Elin was almost never at his golf tournaments and she just seemed chilly."

Seriously, people? Instead of being SHOCKED that any man would cheat on his wife, we are justifying this particular man's behavior by blaming his wife's absenteeism at events? How about the fact that she was at home with their two small children????

And as for Tiger saying that he wants to keep this matter private - how about keeping your privates private. What a disappointment.

All I Want for Christmas

I gave John-Paul (6) and Andrew (5) the Toys r Us Catalog, and told them to look through and make a list of things they liked.

Here's John-Paul's two-sided list:

And here's Andrew's:

So for Advent this year, I'm thinking I should try to be a little MORE like Andrew and a little LESS like John-Paul :)

Thanksgiving in Pictures

We had a (relatively) small Thanksgiving this year. We went to my sister Sue's house and met up with my brother and his family, and my parents. My friend and the kid's preschool teacher came to celebrate with us this year as well! So all in all, there were 10 kids aged 6 and under, and 9 adults.

Auntie Sue trying to explain the rules for the Thanksgiving Egg Hunt (Turkeys do lay eggs, right???)

Kids searching for the eggs with the letters that make up their name.



The extremely gorgeous Miss Marijana with her current student (Eamon) on her lap, and two former students (John-Paul and Andrew) on either side:

Then she took my camera and got this wonderful picture of me...not!

The feast:

We call this Manly Bread because all the men gobble it up (me too!):

Kid Table, where an extremely lively debate occurred about whether we should call them Indians or Native Americans: Auntie Angela with Clare:


Uncle Brian holding his daughter...awkward, isn't it? You wouldn't know this is his 3rd baby. His wife does all the child rearing - still love ya Big B:

My Dad carving the Turkey breasts. Which is a big fight for me and Phil, because I believe the MAN should carve the meat since my dad always did it. And Phil thinks the WOMAN should carve because his Mom does it. Who's side are you on???:

My Mom and brother-in-law, Bill. My Mom loves all the men in her life, and the feeling is mutual!:

Cousins playing:

And of course, we had about 10 desserts to choose from: My Mom making sure everyone has what they need before she sits down. Such a good lady!!:

It was great, and I'm still stuffed!

Maggie is TWO!

Two years ago today, Maggie Rose entered this world with a splash, literally!

I can't believe she is really two years old, she's definitely not a baby anymore. She's a toddler going on a teenager ;)

Maggie is a very independent, spunky little girl. She loves babies (real and dolls), puppies, her brothers and going out anywhere. Unlike the boys, she is not a huge fan of TV (unless it's Elmo or the Wiggles) and loves to be wherever Mom or Dad are. She has fine, wispy blond hair that curls at the end, and sometimes keeps in her "pretty hair" (ponytail) for longer than an hour now!

When I get her dressed, she actually has an opinion on what she wants to wear ("That dress is cute") which throws me for a loop because the boys still don't care what they wear!! She LOVES when I put lip gloss on her and tries to put on my other makeup when she gets a chance. (Her first dress)

Every time we pass a McDonald's, she yells out "Chicken Nuggets" and every time we pass a Dunkin Donuts she says "Coffee and doughnuts"! When we drive by a playground she asks to go down the slide, and she constantly tells me what music she wants to hear in the car....spoiled brat ;)

But she is also really sweet and gives hugs and kisses, needs kisses every time she gets a boo-boo, loves to play with cousins and friends, says "I love you" all the time, and is learning her manners "Yes, pweese...No, gank you".

Maggie Moo....we love you and couldn't imagine our life without you in it!

(Some pictures from the last year)

(The next pictures are from the birthday party she shared with her cousin Abby last weekend)

Happy 2nd Birthday Maggie-licious!