KateSpot

October 20, 2009

I can't believe it's been 5 years already

I miss you Dad

Posted by Cate at 07:52 AM | Comments (1)

January 19, 2009

Another fun family day

This past Saturday, my family and I had the wonderful opportunity to visit the Liberty Science Center. Since I am a writer for the the New Jersey Moms Blog, which is part of the Silicon Valley Moms Group, I was lucky enough to be able to attend this event.

I had never visited the Liberty Science Center but Eldest and Husband were big fans, having visited several years ago before they closed in 2005 for renovations. Eldest and Husband were quite excited to find out that we were getting the chance to visit again. Youngest had never been there either and was also very jazzed to go as well.

Since we were coming from south Jersey, Mary Meluso, one of the coordinators of the event, graciously allowed us the opportunity to arrive several hours before the start of our event (which was at 1pm) and pick up our admission wristbands early. We did arrive at 11am - due to a late start by us. Unfortunately, we didn't make it in time to catch one of the Imax shows - Adrenaline Rush - but we decided to walk around and check out the different floors. We stopped in at the Jennifer A. Chalsty Center for Science Learning and Teaching to check in and let the staff know we were in the building and we'd be back at 1pm. Right outside the Chalsty Center is this fabulous sphere - hanging from the ceiling.

Very cool!

We visited all the floors and saw the following exhibits:

Skyscraper! Achievement and Impact - the largest exhibition on the subject of skyscrapers in the world - with artifacts from the World Trade Center, a walk along an I-Beam two stories above the exhibition floor (my girls wouldn't do it), an earthquake-shake table, a glass-Schindler 400A mid-rise Traction elevator, which is open to show how the elevator moves, the machine room, and the pit, and much more. Very fascinating and a little sad to see iron main beams from one of the World Trade Center towers. This beam was bent nearly in half and it brought tears to my eyes to see it.

Communication explores human communication in four areas -- body and language; symbols, signs, and writing; print, audio, and video; and signals and networks. This was MY favorite section. I loved one particular hands on display that allowed a user to create vowel sounds based on the amount of air forced into the device by level of emphasis. I couldn't stop making the display say "ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" and "ooooooooooooooooooooh" and "eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" softly and then again very loudly.. over and over.. and over again. I was laughing so hard I was literally crying. Yes - I was channelling my inner 12 year old boy. Guess you had to be there.

Infection Connection - helps guests understand how individual actions may affect global health issues. The most interesting exhibit to see was a giant blue nose that actually sneezed (only water - thank goodness) to demonstrate how germs are spread when a person sneezes. Completely grossed me out! Plus, we witnessed a little girl and her Dad get "sneezed" on and we couldn't help but giggle at their reactions. Yes - I know.. but you would have laughed too! What was horrifying were all these little kids rolling on the floors, putting their hands in their mouths.. argh! Germ central!

Our Hudson Home - teaches guests about the wildlife and ecology of the Hudson River. Eldest's favorite exhibit by far. It was fun to see all the fish, turtles, and other sea critters.

Energy Quest - explores different energy types and the technologies to harness these. I think this was Husband's and Youngest's favorite. Everything is hands on so they all got to play with all the exhibits.

We also got to sit in for some live experiments including:

Sub-Zero - which was all about liquid nitrogen. We came to this experiment late but it was WAY cool. ::pun intended:: I want some to play with at one of our Brownie Girl Scout meetings!

Eat and Be Eaten - this exhibit of life animals explores the predator-prey relationship, offering lots of live animals including deadly vipers, amazing puffer fish, and scores of other creatures. COOOOOL! There was a oogy gross cane toad (frickin' HUGE!) and I swear, I thought it was going to come off the table and bolt out the door. But, it just hung out on the table.. very weird!

We also got to watch One World, One Sky: Big Bird's Adventure. Yeah, we were all a bit too old for it but it was totally cute. I miss the Sesame Street days with my girls. We got to go into an inflatable planetarium which was really awesome.

All in all, we left the Liberty Science Center around 4pm. They gave me a great backpack and the girls picked up a couple of the new style aluminum water bottles. We all had a wonderful time and we are looking forward to our next trip up there sometime soon.

Posted by Cate at 10:35 PM | Comments (0)

December 04, 2008

Hospital Visit

Today Mom is having her portacath removed. Hopefully, it won't be a long procedure for her. She doesn't do too well when she goes under general anesthesia. So, I will be stationed at the day stay section of the local hospital, updating via Facebook.

In other strange and interesting news, I was looking back over my old archives and realized that I have been blogging since 12/9/01!! Holy crap - seven years!?! Gotta give a big shout-out of thanks to Erin aka Gigglechick who encouraged me to start blathering ...err.. blogging. Thanks babe!

Posted by Cate at 08:12 AM | Comments (3)

November 18, 2008

Priceless

We bought a copy of a photo taken while we were riding Expedition Everest while in Epcot Animal Kingdom. This is an awesome coaster and we rode it a total of four times, three of them in a row. We all loved riding this ride, especially Eldest. Check out the photo below and take a good long look at her face...

Can you feel the love? Bwahahahaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Posted by Cate at 02:22 PM | Comments (4)

November 13, 2008

Home.. where my thoughts escape me...

Well - today is the big day. We're coming home.. back to New Jersey where it's 48 degrees. Do you know it's 76 degrees in Melbourne right now? ::sigh:: These past 14 days have passed by so quickly. At least Paul and I get one more day of vacation. The girls are going back to school tomorrow - yay! This way, Paul and I can pick up Grumpy.. I mean poor old Darla from the kennel. She should be LOADS of fun.

Wish me luck on the plane ride home. I still hate flying ::shuddering:: I hope we don't crash and die. Yeah, I know, call me a drama queen but I think about that every time I get on a plane. I'm off to finish packing. Ciao!

Posted by Cate at 08:49 AM | Comments (2)

November 12, 2008

And now.. the end is near...

Well, our family fun filled vacation is quickly drawing to a close. We are visiting the Magic Kingdom one last time. We are having lunch at the Plaza Restaurant. Keep an eye out on the New Jersey Moms Blog for a post about our fabulous dining experience. All of you who read here know about my family's food allergies. Chef Ken was da BOMB!

Check out some more Flickr pics here.

Catch you all back in New Jersey - I can't believe we fly back tomorrow. UGH! I hate flying. My ears are still not 100% from the flight down two weeks ago. Wish me luck!

PS - Comments are open again!

Posted by Cate at 07:27 AM | Comments (1)

Shout Out

Happy Birthday to my baby brother Tim. I can't believe he's 34 years old. Dude - when did YOU get old?

I love you. You are my favorite brother, even when you used to tattle or tease me and my friends way back when, you know, in the olden days. Now, I have a fabulous nephew and a great sister in law in with the deal. {{{hugs}}}

Posted by Cate at 06:49 AM | Comments (0)

October 09, 2008

Hooray!

Free Disney Tickers

I can't wait!!!!

Posted by Cate at 08:59 AM | Comments (0)

August 31, 2008

I can't believe it

The family and I will be flying to Florida in October. gulp. I haven't flown in years... since I was pregnant with Eldest (and didn't know it). The flight down to Florida was horrible but, thankfully, the return flight was unremarkable.

I tried to come up with the best way to save money but, given the price of gas and the 2,000+ miles I was going to put on my seven year old car... well.. let's just say it was more cost effective to fly.

Anyone have any Xanax?

Posted by Cate at 06:37 PM | Comments (3)

July 20, 2008

Slip N Sliding kind of weekend...

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Posted by Cate at 09:02 PM | Comments (3)

June 23, 2008

A sorting kind of day

The girls and I spent a few hours at Mom's house today. She has quite a few boxes in her basement that she's been wanting to sort through and organize. We planned on eating lunch (subs) at her place. Well, Youngest can't eat subs from the local sub shop due to her food allergies. So, I planned on making Youngest her own submarine sandwich. When we left for Mom's place, I stopped at Genuardis and picked up some of the makings for her sandwich. At lunchtime, I made her sub and watched as she took the first bite. Thank you Lord - she loved it!

Sorting the boxes at Mom's was a little more difficult to do than I thought. It wasn't the work - that part was easy. It was the opening of my Nana and Pop's stuff that caused me to cry several times. Pop's Pennsylvania Railroad keys and assorted paperwork, a photo and newspaper article about my great-grandfather, Nana's little crystal pieces, stuff that my dad had brought home for my Mom. Oy - I'm getting all verklempt just thinking about it again.

We discarded quite a few pieces and I will be making multiple trips to the local thrift shops. They will be thrilled to get all this stuff and Mom is thrilled that her basement is coming back to order. As for me, well, I am happy to be able to help and I enjoy looking at pieces I remember from my childhood.

I really do.

Posted by Cate at 08:24 PM | Comments (1)

June 13, 2008

You Say It's Your Birthday..

It's our birthday too yeah...

Happy Birthday to me and my Mom! I'm twenty-eighteen today...

Ew.

Posted by Cate at 07:39 AM | Comments (4)

April 10, 2008

Mom Update

Your good juju must have worked - the results are benign! WOOHOO!

Posted by Cate at 08:15 AM | Comments (7)

March 16, 2008

Not your standard Easter egg

For those of you who don't know, my youngest daughter has food allergies. She is anaphylactic to all dairy, eggs, nuts, and peanuts. So, when Easter arrives,we don't dye eggs like most people. Instead, we paint wooden eggs I purchase from the crafts store. Here is one I painted. Check out more uploaded pictures by clicking on the photographs.

Posted by Cate at 10:54 PM | Comments (4)

December 28, 2007

Oy

Well, today wasn't that great of a day. First of all, I was pulled over for speeding (47 in a 35). Ouch. A 2 point ticket and Luckily, I have a very good driving record and the most awesomest ever nice officer let me go with a ticket for obstructed vision. (I have a pair of fuzzy dice hanging from the rear view mirror.) This officer saved me quite a few dollars in fines, nevermind the insurance costs and surcharges!

So, after all that, I drive (the speed limit) us to Eldest's horseback riding camp, which is held at the farm where she takes riding lessons every week. Today is the last day of "camp". I am able to come back around 1030am to relax in the viewing room and watch her ride. She enjoys when we see her ride so Youngest and I run a couple of errands and head back to the farm. Eldest and another student arrive in the arena, mount up on the horses and begin to ride.

Everything is going so smoothly. The instructor sets up the crossbeams (similar to this:

but much lower to the ground. Eldest and the horse barely jump over the first one (because it's so low) but when they got to the second one, well, I guess the damn horse thought he was in the damn Olympics because the bastard took off. Even I could see the horse gearing up for the the second set of beams. He jumped and then started cantering around the arena. At this point, I am on the edge of my seat, very tense, watching Eldest. I had a bad, bad feeling coming up on me and had the awful thought that this wasn't going to end nicely. Unfortunately, I was correct. Eldest and the horse made it back around to the beams again, sailed over the first set (beautifully) and when they arrived at the second set of beams, the horse made it over and Eldest, well, she made it over the horse.. and onto the ground.

We've had this happen before and I can honestly assure you that it still scared the ever-loving shit out of me. I raced out of the viewing room and into the barn. She was already up off the ground and brushign herself off when I saw her next. She was shaken up but, after a couple minutes, she got back on that friggin' horse and continued riding.

God, I need a drink.

I've got more going on today but I am so stressed, I need to take a break for now and will try to write more later. Ciao!

Posted by Cate at 02:35 PM | Comments (0)

December 26, 2007

Relaxing Day

Well, I can't believe that Christmas is over! All that preparation and *poof*. Done.

Eldest had horseback riding camp today. AT 9am. It was a lot of fun to wake up at 7am for that. Even she didn't hop out of bed immediately and she is a horse freak. So, while she spent the day riding and shoveling poop, Youngest and I stayed home and played. She was on Webkinz while I chilled out on the couch with coffee and the clicker. Then, after a very brief lunch, she decided she wanted to play with the Wii. How could I say no? She's got some great footwork:

Sorry for the dark room. I didn't realize how dim the living room was until after I shot the video. Both girls love the Wii and I've got to say that I am a big fan as well. I think I need to get another set of remotes and nunchuks for me!

G'night!

Posted by Cate at 10:48 PM | Comments (0)

December 25, 2007

A Very Merry Wii Christmas

Posted by Cate at 08:11 PM | Comments (3)

November 02, 2007

Vitamin Soda?

Perhaps I've been living under a rock but today was the first time I had seen Diet Coke Plus, "the first nutrient-enhanced carbonated soda to be offered by a major brand". Enriched soda? So, I bought it and have been drinking it with my lunch. The verdict? Well, it tastes suspiciously like .. well.. Diet Coke. So, if I can manage to gleen out a couple nutrients out of it, I will continue to purchase it.

Posted by Cate at 12:26 PM | Comments (0)

October 22, 2007

Still mourning

I can't believe it's been three years since my Dad died. I miss him so much. I wish he could see the girls. I wish he could visit me one more time. I miss his silly games with the girls. I miss watching him play chess with Eldest and I know he'd be thrilled that Youngestis now playing chess with Husband. I read through my post from three years ago and all the wonderful comments left by so many of you out there, well, it just made me cry all over again.

Posted by Cate at 08:40 AM | Comments (7)

June 18, 2007

I can't believe she did it

Eldest decided that she wanted to donate her hair to Locks of Love. She had eleven inches of hair that was neatly and quickly cut off and bagged to send out to the organization. She literally turned into another child - more grown-up. Mature. ::sniffle:: My baby.

Check out the pics of Eldest below.

As you can plainly see, she is thrilled to have finally gotten her hair cut. She's been wanting it much shorter for quite a while. Isn't she gorgeous?

Posted by Cate at 08:09 PM | Comments (9)

June 16, 2007

Another Birthday??

Yep - we've got another one...

Husband - have a wonderful and special day. Pay no mind to the crying children in their bedrooms or the fact that those particular rooms are still not cleaned as requested. Pay no mind to your cranky wife who got all pissed off when she realized that only she threw away her $25 beach badge.

But, everyone, please attention to the fantastic man who, on his very own birthday, dug through not one but two bags of garbage to find said beach badge for his now greatful and loving wife.

Happy Birthday sweetie - I love you!

Posted by Cate at 09:32 AM | Comments (7)

June 13, 2007

Twenty-Seventeen

Happy birthday to me!

My mom and I share the same birthday so please join me in wishing her a Happy Birthday as well.

Oh, and check out the best cake ever -

(image found here)

Posted by Cate at 12:25 PM | Comments (8)

June 07, 2007

Look what's new

Check out the newest pics on Flickr!

Posted by Cate at 03:06 PM | Comments (0)

June 06, 2007

14 years and still going strong

Happy anniversary to us
Happy anniversary to us
Happy anniversary Kate and Husband
Happy anniversary to us.

June 1993:

Today:

Ain't we adorable?

Posted by Cate at 08:28 AM | Comments (7)

December 30, 2006

Happy Birthday Baby

Today, my sweet little baby is turning seven years old.

Where does the time go?

Have a wonderful birthday baby. Daddy and I love you more than you will ever know.

Posted by Cate at 09:39 AM | Comments (6)

November 26, 2006

Blogging from Hoboken

The family and I headed into Hoboken yesterday to visit my brother and sis in law (Tim and Maryellen). We had a great time. We ate an early lunch in their awesome apartment in Hoboken then took a ferry across the Hudson. Tim picked up tickets to the American Museum of Natural History. The last time we were here was when Eldest was about 3 years old and I was *just* pregnant with Olivia. We had a lot of fun in the museum. YoungestLOVED the butterfly exhibit. She desperately wanted to catch a butterfly. That was the only time she actually stood still! Eldest wasn't such a big butterfly fan. She didn't like the fact that the butterflies were all over the place and one might actually land on her. She got out of the exhibit as fast as she possibly could. LOL - poor kid.

We got back to Hoboken around 530ish and Tim whipped up a yummy (and kid friendly) menu. He and Mare challeneged Husband and I to a game of Trivial Pursuit - 80's style. At first, they were stomping us pretty badly. But, their tune soon changed when we caught up to them very quickly. They did win - just barely. It was still quite a bit of fun!

We're still up in Hoboken, relaxing and watching Spongebob. Eldest and Husband already visited Starbucks for us this morning. We'll be leaving in a little while and heading back to Ocean County. Yippie!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving weekend. I'll be visiting you soon!

Posted by Cate at 10:28 AM | Comments (0)

October 20, 2006

Two years

Two years ago today, my Dad lost his battle with colorectal cancer.

I miss him so much.

Posted by Cate at 10:18 AM | Comments (12)

October 15, 2006

New Pics

Posted up on the Flickr page.

Posted by Cate at 10:46 PM | Comments (1)

August 23, 2006

Pictures!

Check out my Flickr album.

Posted by Cate at 10:53 PM | Comments (1)

August 21, 2006

Slightly Sunburned and Sleepy

We made it back home alive. Six Flags was fun - the girls definitely had a blast. I"ll try to upload some pictures to my Flickr account. I've got to get these lil buggers cleaned up and ready for bed!

Husband has an interesting recap on our day. Check out what he's got to say!

Posted by Cate at 07:49 PM | Comments (0)

July 24, 2006

Out for the day

Mom is at the hospital and is having a knee replacement done so I will be there most of the day. Any good thoughts and all would be appreciated.

Will update later.

Posted by Cate at 06:17 AM | Comments (5)

July 15, 2006

Rocket Time!

Yes, I know the image is sideways. I won't be shooting my videos like that again. I just like watching Youngesttake off after the rocket lands.

Posted by Cate at 11:21 PM | Comments (1)

June 18, 2006

Father's Day

Dear Dad,

I think of you every day. Not a day goes by without some distant memory of you popping into my head. I wish you could have lived long enough to celebrate Tim and Maryellen's wedding with us. I know you would have been so proud. But, when you died, some new relationships formed and now, Mom and Millie have become close. I am sure you would have never anticipated that at all!

I love you and miss you so very much.

Katie

Posted by Cate at 10:32 AM | Comments (4)

June 16, 2006

ANOTHER birthday?

Yes it is!

Happy Birthday to my most favorite husband in the whole wide world! I love you!

Some of the many faces of Husband:

Posted by Cate at 10:34 AM | Comments (3)

June 14, 2006

A Lovely Day

Thank you all so much for all of the birthday comments and emails! I had a great day yesterday. The girls and Husband bought me two dvds and this Pittsburgh Steelers hat! Go Steelers!

Mom and I had a nice lunch. It's not too often when just the two of us get a chance to sit and chat. Of course, Mom gave me a very generous gift with the condition that I muct purchase at least two pairs of shorts. I think I can manage that! My brother and Maryellen sent me a gorgeous bouquet of roses. Of course, my friend Lauren gave me a very sweet card and I can't forget Miz Christina who also sent a lovely card.

Ok - I've promised pictures for the longest time. Here are a few from my brother's wedding:

Posted by Cate at 07:20 PM | Comments (8)

June 06, 2006

We've come a long way baby

Happy anniversary to the most wonderful man in my life.

We've certainly been through some rough patches, good times and bad, sickness and in health. We met when I was 18, engaged at 19 and we were married when I was 22. We have been together almost 18 years and married for 13 of them. We have 2 beautiful girls. I love him more and more each day. He is a hard working man, completely dedicated to the girls and myself. I know I can pretty much ask him to do anything and he would move heaven and earth to try to do it. He is my rock and I love him for it.

I love you honey. Let's have many more years together. Face it Husband, you're stuck with me.

Posted by Cate at 09:23 AM | Comments (19)

June 05, 2006

Mark of the Beast?

Hmmm - if 6/06/06 is going to be a cursed day, then how weird would it be that not only is it my wedding anniversary but it's my 13th wedding anniversary?

Creepy, huh? Personally, I think it's pretty neat. I don't believe that the world is going to end or that the devil will appear. Besides, my birthday is coming up too - on the 13th!

Posted by Cate at 07:08 AM | Comments (4)

June 03, 2006

I'm BACK

The wedding was SO MUCH FUN!

I am exhausted. Will post some pics and write more tomorrow.

Posted by Cate at 08:24 PM | Comments (0)

June 01, 2006

Headin' OUT!

Ok folks, I am on my way outta Ocean County and heading to West Orange to check into the hotel and to enjoy the rehersal/dinner. I'll be missing all of you guys! Do me a favor and chant "NO RAIN!" a few hundred times. The weather doesn't look like it's going to cooperate. I am hoping to have lots of pictures... and quite a few drinks too!

Be good and I will catch up with you guys on Saturday.

::smooches::

Posted by Cate at 11:08 AM | Comments (5)

May 17, 2006

Home alive

with a very tired nine year old in tow.

We had a fantastic time visiting with Kathy and her crew and seeing the sights. I'll blog about it more tomorrow - I hope!

Posted by Cate at 08:50 PM | Comments (0)

March 24, 2006

No time!

Oy!

I'm so farookin' busy that it's making me insane.

I miss blogging : - (

I have pictures to upload and email (I'm sorry Lauren!!). Husband and I have been working in the addition. We desperately want this thing completed asap.

Off to do my daily running. Ciao and have a great weekend!

Posted by Cate at 08:24 AM | Comments (5)

March 16, 2006

Moving Day

Mom and Dan are moving to their new place today. They've hired a moving company who is sending six men with two trucks. Let me tell you that those six men will be earning their money today. They have lots and lots AND lots of stuff to move. The girls have a half day today so we can shoot over to the new place around 2pm. Hopefully, the cable guy will show up between his scheduled times of 3pm-5pm. Then, we get to rocket back home so I can cook dinner and run out to a GS service unit meeting.

I've got to work on some PTA family fun night paperwork so I can't stay and chat with you. To all the wonderful people who ordered cookies from Eldest, they will be coming soon. I promise!

Posted by Cate at 09:38 AM | Comments (2)

March 05, 2006

Workin' for the weekend?

More like working ON the weekend. I'm taking a break from packing up the contents of my Mom's china cabinets. Good LORDY - she has an incredible amount of stuff. A lot of them are very good pieces and some are quite old. It's pretty neat to be able to look at a piece and know that my great-grandmother once owned it.

Ok - I'm heading home. I think there's a nice hot shower with my name on it. And, if I'm super lucky, Husband will massage my back with BenGay.

Hubba hubba!

Posted by Cate at 03:18 PM | Comments (4)

February 15, 2006

The end of the day

The girls just got stuffed into bed.

Praise Jesus.

It's been one helluva long day. Husband and I woke up at 530am and started getting things ready. We woke Eldest around 545am and Youngeststaggered out a few minutes later. I helped Youngestget dressed and we picked out a favorite teddy bear and blanket for today's procedure. While I was busy, Husband fed Eldest a fine breakfast of champions.

Here's an interesting donut facts - these particular donuts have 26 grams of fat. EACH. I can't even imagine how many Weight Watcher points it would be. Those are some tasty donuts but I've been good. I haven't had any. When I was pregnant with Eldest, I used to chow those puppies down. God, how nasty.

Anyway, we made it to Same Day surgery (same place where you went Mom) and everything was good. Youngesthung in there and was quite the trooper. The only time she lost it was when she was getting wheeled into the OR. The look on her face - she was so scared - and then crying hysterically.... Oy. It's hard being a Mommy.

Her doctor came out 15 minutes after she was wheeled in and said that everything went smoothly and she was still sleeping. We got to see her about 30 minutes later and she was fine. Smiling and happy to see us. A little bit after that, we were all able to go home. Youngestgot a bit of a nosebleed right before we made it home and she was flipping out. I handed her a napkin and tried to calm her down. She calmed down a little bit as Husband turned down our street and then into the driveway. I jumped out and unlocked the front door. Husband carried Youngestinside and put her on the couch. As I was taking off my coat, Youngeststarts to scream. When I say scream, I really mean SCREAM. Apparently, when Husband moved the napkin, more blood spurted out and Youngestfreaked. Can't say I blame her for flipping out - it looked pretty gross. Again, I calmed her down and the bleeding stopped.

Without rambling on and on, to sum it up, the day was looong. Both girls were home, Husband and I were (and still are) exhausted and I totally got lazy and fed the family a fine meal of McDonalds. I am going to do a few loads of laundry, take a shower then go to bed!

So - how the hell are you?

Posted by Cate at 07:52 PM | Comments (3)

February 08, 2006

For Mom

Here's your pics - check 'em out below.

Mom and her new place - soon be occupied by mid-March.

Posted by Cate at 11:11 PM | Comments (2)

November 27, 2005

For Mom

Your house pics are below!

Posted by Cate at 08:15 PM | Comments (7)

November 26, 2005

Evening time

Everyone is alseep - except for me. Guess I cna always fold some laundry. Wheeeeeeeeee!

Posted by Cate at 09:42 PM | Comments (3)

November 19, 2005

Thank you

My Mom is home. The procedure went smoothly. The results will be in on the 28th. Keep your fingers crossed. Thank you for all the good thoughts and kind emails. {{{hugs}}} You guys rock!

Posted by Cate at 09:06 AM | Comments (4)

November 17, 2005

Good thoughts needed

Mom is at the hospital right now. She's been scheduled for a biopsy due to the cancer popping up back up in her left femur.

Prayers and good thoughts needed please!

Posted by Cate at 02:57 PM | Comments (16)

November 08, 2005

Mom and Dan's new place

For all of those who are visiting, here are some pictures of my Mom and Dan's new home - currently under construction. Click on the extended entry to see 'em.

The front of the house.

The guest room with guests!

The sunroom.

Another view from the front.

Posted by Cate at 01:43 PM | Comments (1)

September 25, 2005

Brilliant

Teh four of us went here to see this. It was fantastic. Eldest was in heaven. The stallions were beautiful and did amazing things like the Courbette and the Capriole.

Courbette - The horse balances on the hind legs and then jumps, keeping the hind legs together and the forelegs off the ground.

Capriole - The stallion leaps into the air, drawing his forelegs under his chest at the height of elevation, and kicks out violently with his hind legs. The capriole can take many years of training.

It was breathtaking to watch these magnificent animals even attempt these stunts.

Posted by Cate at 07:56 PM | Comments (1)

September 17, 2005

Playing the Ponies

The girls and I are going here today with my sis in law and her boyfriend. It should be a good time.

Catch ya later!

Posted by Cate at 08:22 AM | Comments (1)

September 16, 2005

OMG OMG OMG!

My brother, who is in Greece with is girlfriend, just called my mother with the news that he just proposed to MaryEllen and she said YES!

HOORAY!

Oh, I am just so happy!

Posted by Cate at 09:04 PM | Comments (4)

July 24, 2005

Sum-Sum-Summertime

The girls and I paid a visit to the Ocean County Fair yesterday. I got a little crispy on my neck, arms and chest. Ouchies. ::View image::

We had a load of fun visiting the 4-H tents and seeing the goats ::View image::, bunnies ::View image::, cows ::View image::, llamas ::View image::, donkies ::View image::, horses ::View image, chickens ::View image::, and roosters ::View image::. The girls got a pony ride - ::View image:: and ::View image:: I had the girls' portrait sketched ::View image:: and ::View image::

We also saw the Jon Corzine booth. ::View image:: He was speaking at the fair today at 115pm. I also spotted the pro-life booth. ::View image::. I am all for pro-life but posters depicting partial birth abortion on display at a county fair?? I think that's the wrong place and time. I kept shielding the girls from looking at the images. Of course, the booth was right next to the gentleman doing the sketches.

We also visited the NJ 101.5 booth ::View image:: and I did win a 4-pack of tickes to see the Trenton Thunder on 7/27. I was able to guess the name and song title of a band (The Beatles and Day Tripper). Woohoo. The game is 7/27 at 7pm. We're all excited to go to the game. ::View image:: and ::View image::

The girls rode some rides ::View image:: and ::View image::, enjoyed the fair ::View image:: and all it's silly sights ::View image::

Posted by Cate at 07:18 PM | Comments (5)

July 09, 2005

I'm A Survivor

Eldest had her pool party today. We lucked out with gorgeous weather. All the kids had fun. The trampoline was a big, no, make that a HUGE hit. All the chlorine is out of the pool and the bottom of it is full of grass.

I need a nap. LOL.

Posted by Cate at 06:14 PM | Comments (3)

July 08, 2005

Happy Birthday

Today is Eldest's nineth birthday.

I can't believe she is nine. NINE. I look at her and think about how lucky I am to have her as my daughter. I love her so very much. She has made me one very proud mama. She's smart and funny and is incredibly caring and thoughtful.

Happy Birthday baby. I love you.

I know she would be thrilled if people wished her a happy birthday so as a huge favor, today, could all you fine people out there leave a birthday comment for her?

Thanks!

Posted by Cate at 08:02 AM | Comments (24)

July 04, 2005

Fireworks

We just got back home from an awesome fireworks show. The girls had a great time. I tried to take some pictures of the fireworks - I wonder if they turned out.

Anyway, I stink like bug spray. LOL. Off to shower!

Posted by Cate at 10:42 PM | Comments (0)

June 16, 2005

Pictures

A very happy birthday was had. Husband enjoyed his bbq'ed steak, salad, rice and homemade baking soda biscuits. Of course, how can you NOT have a birthday cake?

::image::

He even got a rainbow.
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A very nice day indeed.

Posted by Cate at 08:45 PM | Comments (10)

Happy Birthday

I want to send a very happy birthday to my wonderful husband.

Thank you for everything - our special marriage, our two beautiful daughters, our home and our life together.

I love you.

Posted by Cate at 12:49 PM | Comments (10)

June 12, 2005

Fantabulous weekend!

We had such a wonderful weekend that I can't even figure out how to express my thoughts. I'll do my best.

Saturday:
Got up early and baked two dozen cookies and a chocolate cake. While that was baking, I made homemade chocolate icing. YUM. Husband cleaned up the yard while I worked inside. Eldest was invited to a pool party (classmate)so one of her friend's mom offered to bring her there AND back. Woohoo! The guest list was my brother and his girlfriend, Mom and Dan and my mom's friends whom I adore. Mom had said that there would be one HUGE birthday surprise for me when she arrived at my house at 1230pm. I had NO clue - I thought she bought herself a new car or a small dog or something

Well, she pulls up at 1230pm and honks the horn. I walked out my front door and saw Dan (Mom's boyfriend), my mom, and another woman. It didn't really register who she was right away. I remember thinking "Wow, she looks a lot like Millie!" (my stepmom). Then, I realized that it WAS my stepmom! HOLY SHIT! My Mom and Step-mom were standing next to each other and smiling! I remember saying "HOLY SHIT!" and they were just laughing at me. (brief history - they never EVER got along. Ever.) I said "It's the sign of the Apocolypse! The Horsemen are coming!" We just laughed and laughed. I was (and stillam) so very happy this very unexpected turn of events came about.
Now, my brother and his girlfriend hadn't arrived yet. While we were standing out in the yard, talking and laughing, he pulled up along the foot of my driveway and Mom and Millie waved at him. He hesitated for a split second then gunned the car and drove down the street! Of course, he came right back amd we were all a bit more hysterical. Mom kept saying "Gotcha!" to me and she sure did.
The BBQ was a lot of fun - tons of food and a lot of good times to cherish. I just wish my Dad could have been there to see this. I am SO happy that my family can be together at one time.

Sunday:

The girls got to go swimming! Granted, the water was 80 degrees but they didn't care one damn bit. Husband had to mow the lawn (again!) and his big project was to move the pool filter and run the electric cables. He needs to bury them underground so he had to dig a big trench as well.

I managed to get some work done around here, vaccuumed the pool and I even got some sun. In fact, I got slightly sunburned. But, it was gorgeous outside today. I'm a little tired - probably from too much sun but I had a great day.

A great weekend indeed.

Posted by Cate at 09:32 PM | Comments (6)

June 04, 2005

Road Trip

The girls and I will be visiting my inlaws today. Husband got there earlier this morning. My FIL wants to put up a fence and all the kids have arrived to help. I spoke with my MIL this morning and asked if I could do some laundry at her house since my dryer is still dead. She said yes, of course. The weather has been rainy so I can't even hang clothes out on the line. I've got stuff hung all over the bathroom and in my bedroom. I am hoping I can get it repaired this week and that the cost is under $200.

Oy.

Well, I'm off for now. Have a great Saturday!

Posted by Cate at 11:09 AM | Comments (5)

May 31, 2005

Fun weekend

On Sunday, we went to a party at my SIL and BIL's house. We all had a great time. We didn't even get home until midnight! The girls ran ALL DAY. Really. All damn day. They are all excited for the next party, whenever that may be. I managed to catch a few pictures from the BBQ and I've posted them below.

View image - Whee!

View image - the girls playing frisbee.

View image - my MIL's new puppy. She's a Cairn Terrier and she's just adorable.

View image - Mmmm! Ice pops!

View image - Time to leave.

Posted by Cate at 09:49 AM | Comments (7)

May 19, 2005

My Nana

My Nana died on May 19, 2001.

I got the call from my Mom while I was driving on the GSP to go visit Nana at the hospital. I just KNEW when I saw my Mom's number come up on my phone.. All she said, at first, was not to go to the hospital, go to her place. I kept saying why why... I knew why. Then she told me, crying, that Nana just died. I had to pull my car over and I bawled. God - I miss her so damn much it hurts.
I can't even talk about her without crying. She was such a fighter..she didn't deserve to die - not this way... Thank GOD the drs said she didn't suffer, at least not at that moment. I had just seen her the night before - She was so cranky! I was trying to show her the proofs of Eldest and Youngest's portraits. She didn't want to see them at first... But, she needed to use the bedpan and I got the nurse for her. She was trying to send me hone but I didn't leave - I remember calling my Mom and telling her that Nana was being cranky. I went back to chat with her some more.. She suddenly asked to see the proofs of the girls. So, I pulled them out, got her glasses and she picked the 1 picture of the girls that me and Mom had agreed upon as the best picture. I remember chatting with her for a few more minutes and she kept telling me to go home. I gave her a kiss, told her that I loved her and I would be back tomorrow to visit. That was the last time I saw my Nana.

I love you Nana. I miss you so very very much.

Posted by Cate at 09:44 PM | Comments (15)

May 17, 2005

The Vet - Update

I spoke with the vet around 330pm. Darla's tests came back fine. Some things were on the high side of normal but the vet was not worried about that. One thing she did say was that Darla was dehydrated and they had a hard time drawing blood. How on earth do you make a cat drink water? We change her water ALL the time. I'm at the point where I leave the water dripping in the bathroom sink and she will, occasionally, drink from that. The vet also mentioned that Darla's calcium level was high which could possibly be cancer. She suggested that Darla should have some x-rays to check out her. Darla would also have to be sedated for the x-ray. I have to ask the vet about the health risk of a 16 yr old cat going under sedation.

My poor kitty.

Posted by Cate at 11:40 PM | Comments (8)

Back from the vet

Oy - what a visit. Darla screamed and yowled and hissed. She truly looked like she was possessed. Youngestgot all freaked out, the poor kid. The vet thinks Darla might have some thyroid or kidney problems. ::sigh:: my poor kitty.

Posted by Cate at 02:03 PM | Comments (2)

May 15, 2005

Day of Pictures

We had a great time. I love visiting NYC.

View image - The girls and Husband.

View image Me and my cool brother.

View image Eldest and Husband

View image Tim, Youngestand me.

View image The girls and Sam. We rode in his carriage around Central Park. The girls LOVED it.

View image The girls in front of a pretty fountain by the Plaza hotel.

View image The American Girl Store in Manhattan. Yes - it IS that big.

View image These employees work in the doll hair salon. Incredible. Husband said I had to take a picture of it and post it on my blog. How'd you like that job?

View image Youngestbegging for a Bitty Baby outfit at the American Girl store.

View image Eldest and Tim.

View image 30 Rockerfeller.

View image Tim and the girls at Rockerfeller Center

View image Another photo of Rockerfeller Center

View image A gorgeous Judith Leiber beaded bag in the Saks Fifth Avenue window display. Isn't it beautiful?

Posted by Cate at 10:16 AM | Comments (9)

April 18, 2005

What I've been doing

I have to put it in the extended entry - it's too much to plop out here.

Saturday - Pual rented a jackhammer and smashed up a lot of stone that was under our deck. The original owner of the house was a mason so there was a ton of poured concrete and bricks under there. I think it was an old porch or step. It took Husband until Sunday to break it all up. The girls and I went to my Mom's place. I cleaned while the girls and Mom played. A friend of hers just had a baby so she stopped by with him. He's a month old and adorable. Eldest was allowed to hold him and she seemed to like holding him. Youngestwouldn't hold him at all! Silly girl.
On Sunday, the girls and I ran out and did some food shopping and picked up a gift card for a friend of Eldest's who was having a birthday party later that day. We had lunch, put the gifts in a gift bag (I had crocheted a hat for the birthday girl Saturday night) and packed a bathing suit and towel for Eldest and we were off. Youngeststayed with Husband.The party was held at a HUGE Catholic church which also had an indoor pool center. NICE! I ended up signing Eldest up for swimming lessons. I am trying to get Youngestsigned up too. We didn't get home until almost 5pm so I whipped up a gormet meal of hot dogs, fries and a salad. The girls ran around the backyard while Husband and I cleaned up and vacuumed. The girls got showered and were in bed by 830pm. Husband and I watched Deadwood on HBO. Another great episode.
Today - Husband was scheduled for another test at 845am. I got a call this morning from the hospital at 730am - cancelling the test. The Xray machine was broken. Umm.. ok. So, Husband went to work instead.
I saw the chiro at 10am. I have been so tense and stressed out that I have a HUGE disgusting cold sore right on my lip. UGH! When I was speaking with the receptionist, the chiro walked up behind me and put his hand on my shoulder. I almost jumped out of my skin! He started to laugh at me - the bastard. LOL! I adore him - the nicest guy around.
I am in the process of setting up dr appointments for the girls. Appointments are made. Youngestneeds a well visit for kindergarten and a followup with the ENT. BOTH tubes have come out of her ear drums but have been sitting in the ear canal for a while. I want them out of her ears.
I have to register Youngestfor kindergarten this week. Youngestis also continuing with gymnastics thoughtout the summer. Eldest (and hopefully Olivia) will be getting swimming lessons that start in the end of May and runs twice a week until the end of June. Eldest has cheer dance until the end of June. Did I mention that it's the same day as swim lessons? OY! She also wants to go to Girl Scout camp. We got the schedule for camp and she is interested in 3 different weeks. They offer a new theme each week and she was very interested in 3 of them. We have Girl Scouts until June. I can't wait for that to be finished either!
Oh, and I've managed to do some laundry and clean the kitchen. Today is my "Catch-up From the Weekend" day. I've barely had time to post.

I need a vacation!

Posted by Cate at 01:31 PM | Comments (3)

March 29, 2005

Picture Time

Ok - here's another "Several Days in Pictures" entry

View image - My cranky cat, Darla. Don't let the sweet name fool you.

The following pictures are from Eldest's room. I don't know if anyone recalls that Husband and I repainted her room and some furniture in February.
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Youngest's ponies:
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Easter Fun:
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Monday's GS horseback riding trip:
View image
View image

Posted by Cate at 09:32 PM | Comments (3)

February 27, 2005

Too much!

I've had enough togetherness. I hope to GOD that school is on tomorrow.

Posted by Cate at 05:05 PM | Comments (4)

February 23, 2005

Feeling sad

When my dad died, I found out that he had a small insurance policy through work and both Tim and I were both beneficiaries.

In today's mail, I received the check from the insurance company. I started to cry before I even opened it. I just put it on my desk. I don't even want to touch it. God, I'm crying again just writing this.

Posted by Cate at 06:39 PM | Comments (8)

February 21, 2005

Sleepover pics

As promised:

My niece (left) and Youngest(right)
Eldest

Posted by Cate at 02:21 PM | Comments (8)

February 19, 2005

Sleepover

The girls and I will be spending tonight at my inlaws house with my 3 sis in laws and niece. It's going to be an all girl sleepover. God help me - but the little ones will have so much fun. My niece is four years old and Youngestloves to play with her. Eldest will actually be the odd man out but I am sure she will be hanging with one or two of her aunties. I am in charge of bringing crafts so I have perler beads and make your own small foam Easter eggs - sorta like this. Off to pack some stuff.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Posted by Cate at 09:16 AM | Comments (4)

December 30, 2004

Nestled in their beds

Everyone is in bed already. Husband was the first one down at 930pm and the girls followed 15 minutes later. So, I am reading my blogs and relaxing with a glass of wine and some cheese. All I need is a roaring fire... and a fireplace too.

Posted by Cate at 10:55 PM | Comments (3)

Lil Miss

The Birthday Girl.

Posted by Cate at 02:20 PM | Comments (8)

Special Day

Happy Birthday to my lovely little girl. Olivia, you will always be my baby even though you are a great big girl of five.
We love you very very much.

Posted by Cate at 10:55 AM | Comments (7)

December 28, 2004

Cleanin' Time

The girls and I are headed to my Mom's place to clean this morning. Well, *I* get to clean and the girls get to play. Life is good.

Catch ya'll later!

Posted by Cate at 09:18 AM | Comments (1)

December 21, 2004

Could be rough

Husband took the girls out shopping. They just left about 10 minutes ago. They are going out to buy my Christmas presents. Isn't that sweet? Awww.

Yippie! I have the house to myself! Woohooo!

Actually, I am going out shopping too. See ya!

Posted by Cate at 06:47 PM | Comments (0)

December 12, 2004

Break

I'm still at Mom's house. I need to finish her kitchen, dust the living room and then vacuum. I hate vacuuming, especially her stairs. ICK ICK ICK.

Who's finished with their shopping? Did you wrap everything too? Hell, I still have a few more presents to pick up as well as wrapping everything! Arrgghh!

Posted by Cate at 01:34 PM | Comments (3)

Cleanin' Time

The girls and I are going to my Mom's house. Eldest has a project to completed and I will be cleaning. Husband will be hanging Christmas lights.

Who says Sunday is a day of rest?

Posted by Cate at 09:18 AM | Comments (2)

December 06, 2004

Birthday

The girls had a birthday party to attend yesterday from 3pm-430pm. It was for my adorable niece who just turned 4. The poor child was sick. She didn't even enjoy her own party. Of course, my girls had a blast.
The party was held at one of those play places that has a ball pit, huge climbing unit with a slide, mats, jumpy things... all that fun stuff. The bonus - this play place was only open for 1 month so everything was still pretty clean and didn't look disgusting at all. The girls ran around and played and had a great time. I did manage to snap a few pictures that I haven't pulled off the digital camera yet.

This morning, after Eldest left for school, Youngestand I ran a few errands including a stop at the Dollar Tree. I love dollar stores. What did we ever do without one? I snagged some gold garland for our Christmas tree. I really wanted silver but they didn't have any left. The gold I chose wasn't the SUPER shiny yellow gold but a more muted shade of gold. I also grabbed some other things for Girl Scouts and goody bags.
After leaving the Dollar Tree, I drove around my neighborhood and checked out some potential houses for sale. There were some good and some bad. The realtor has stopped at our house yesterday before we left for the party and evaluated our house. I was surprised at the figure she quoted us as it was a lot more that I thought it could sell for on the market. Wish us luck. I hope we can find the right house for us out there soon.
So, our plan today is to finish decorating the tree. We set it up Saturday night and managed to get the lights on it. We stopped at putting up other decorations because we wanted garland. The four of us sat on the couch, with all the lights off, and just enjoyed looking at the tree. I started to think about my Dad and the tears just ran down my face. I had to leave the room so the girls didn't see me all upset.
It's going to be a tough Christmas.

Posted by Cate at 12:44 PM | Comments (3)

November 14, 2004

Break time

Hello!

I am blogging from Mom's house. I came up to clean her place and help her around the house. She's doing very well - the recovery from her shoulder surgery seems to be right on track. She will see the doctor tomorrow for a follow-up.
Husband is home - working in my kitchen. There were a few places that needed to be spackled and painted. He is very graciously doing that for me while I have the girls out of the house - and out of his hair!

Hopefully, I will catch up later. Have a great day!

Posted by Cate at 01:20 PM | Comments (1)

November 12, 2004

YAY!

My Mom is home from the hospital. She sounds pretty good.. but she's still sore. I have scouts today so I won't even be updating until later tonight.

Posted by Cate at 12:26 PM | Comments (4)

November 09, 2004

Feeling sad

I miss my dad ::sigh::

Posted by Cate at 01:30 PM | Comments (10)

November 07, 2004

It's done

My brother, stepmom and I sprinkled my father's ashes this morning. Well, my brother put out the ashes for us. That was the one thing that I could not bear to do. I felt bad having my brother do it but the thought of the ashes and them touching me... it really freaked my crap. Is that awful of me or what? I mean, how selfish am I?
My poor brother... what a crappy 30th birthday week for him.
Anyway, we placed his ashes in the spot he wanted them placed. It was hard.. so hard.. we all cried.. But, he was finally at rest exactly where he wanted to be placed. We decided today would be a good day since the NYC Marathon will be run today. Dad's first marathon was the NYC Marathon. He completed it in 1994 - at age 53 with only 1 year of training (after a heart attack in 1993)- with a time of 4:54:19.
:::sniffle:::
We decided to go out to breakfast at Dad's favorite diner. Why not? So, we had a nice breakfast and were able to chat for a while. It was nice.. as nice as it could be...

Posted by Cate at 11:47 AM | Comments (8)

October 24, 2004

My Father's Eulogy

It is quite long but it was the most beautiful tribute to my dad that I had ever heard.

My name is Joe Cinege and I was asked by Abe's wife Millie to say a few words about the man we all love. Thank you, Millie - I am truly honored.

Abe is known by many names - to some he is Abe, to others including myself, he is Abbas (a beautiful and fitting Arabic name meaning Father). To some he is uncle, cousin, or brother. To one, he is son. Still to others he IS father, dad and Papa. To Millie he is often Sweetheart or My Sweetie and most especially, MY LOVE. To all, he is FRIEND and to all, he is loved.

I met Abbas nearly 40 years ago on the campus of Upsala College in East Orange. It was 1966. Like any other college student, Abbas quickly earned a nickname. Since he was somewhat of an elder statesman (we were a bunch of 18 year olds and he was a world traveler - the wise man who often had visited Europe and then left Germany with a small carry bag to come by boat to NYC). This earned him the respected name of Papa-san.

As a respectful and reserved GENTLE - MAN from the mid-East, we also learned to call him Mr. Rezvan. Abbas taught us to respect others. He often called me Mr. Cinege and our other college buddy Charlie, Mr. DuBois. EH, maybe there was just a TINGE of sarcasm - but also a larger tinge of respectfulness. But I think my favorite nickname for Abbas is The Persian Prince - for in many ways, he was royalty.

In fact, one of the true measures of a man of royalty is how he treats others. In later life, whenever Abbas would greet me, we would both embrace and he would sincerely ask, "How are you, my friend?" My friend. What an honor for me to be HIS FRIEND. And the measure of a man's love for his fellow man is reflected in how someone treats the so called "undesirables" of this world. Abbas once had a blind roommate in college named Roger, who, it is fair to say, was also quite a PAIN in the NECK at times. Abbas didn't just do his duty and tolerate him as a roommate, but he patiently instilled social graces into a fellow human being who was in need of all the kindness he could get.

One evening, Roger went missing from his dorm room during a drifting snowstorm and it was Abbas who went looking for him and found him crying in a snowdrift and patiently guided Roger back to the dorm. Even back then, Abbas was being a shining example of how to treat other people - with dignity, respect and love.

Speaking of dignity and respect - I bet if you look up those two words in the dictionary, you'd see his picture next to both definitions. Dignity - Respect - Abbas. And it was these characteristics, along with the word CHARMING, that caused his future BRIDE, Millie to smile like a schoolgirl when Abbas was first pursuing her affection in the late 1980's. Mr. Persistent finally got Millie to go out to dinner with him, and the rest is history - a love story between the Persian Prince and his BROOKLYN Princess. I think at times the Mischievous Millie enjoyed saying slightly IMPROPER things just to watch Abe blush or fidget and sometimes bellow out, MILL, STOP IT!

Pedestals were Abbas' weapon of choice when it came to Millie - he always had her on one and she loved it - but so did he. He loved to pamper and Millie loved to be pampered - whether it was that chilled glass of wine waiting for her at the end of a long commute home or the frequent multi-course gourmet meal that the Culinary King whipped up at the last minute. I'm sure he probably even did the dishes.

She'd be the first to admit this - Millie was basically spoiled and Abbas loved spoiling her. Once she wanted to go to a Kenny Rogers concert but Abe told her NO, because he hated Kenny Rogers. From what she told me, I don't think Abbas ever told her NO to anything, and she was quite taken back. She was probably thinking, "How could he say NO to me?" Of course, two weeks later he handed her the concert tickets and even if he didn't have a good time, he probably made it look like he did.

It's hard to say the name Abe or Abbas - by itself. It sounds more natural when you say Abe & Millie or Abbas & Millie, or like I've said, The Prince and The Princess. They did everything together - except food-shopping - that was Abe's domain.

I'd like to recall for you a Fairy Tale. The Prince and The Princess each had a family when they met - both were previously divorced and both had children from that previous marriage. Abbas embraced Millie's Linda as his own; and along with Linda's husband, Dennis, they became Rezvans of sort. And their love produced a granddaughter for Abe & Millie - her name is V, or as Papa would kid around - at times Gloria and at other times Maria.

Abbas was a SEVERELY PROUD man. SEVERELY PROUD. And two of the people he was most proud of were his daughter Katie and his son Tim. For example, when we were together last Saturday in Abbas & Millie's living room, we were with Tim for several hours - and after he left, Cindy told Abbas how wonderful Tim is - Abbas listened carefully and then stated matter-a-factly that he doesn't like to pound his chest about his children or grandchildren - but his chest was puffed up and he had that trademark twinkle in his eye and that satisfied smile. Abbas knew he did a good job, but of course he would never OBVIOUSLY take the credit.

Millie also came out ahead with the extended relationships too. She HAS Katie and her Husband. And their love created two more grandchildren for Abe & Millie - Eldest and Youngest. Also the apples of Papa's eye. I got to see Husband's strength firsthand earlier this week as he gave such comfort to Millie in her hour of need. And Tim's girlfriend, was a true angel as she held Abe's hand in his hour of need.

But I also witnessed the great love of a father waiting for his children to arrive so that he knew it would be OK to go. This is FAMILY and this is what summed up the life of Abbas Rezvan - His Family. In their den is a collage picture of Abbas' father, the children, the grandchildren and Millie & Abbas - which gives lasting truth again to the old saying that "A Picture IS Worth A Thousand Words."

As if being a successful father, grandfather and husband isn't enough, Abbas had many other successes - too many to name.

For starters, we have a man who grew up in Tehran, Iran and spent much time in Europe. He then made his way from Germany to the US with basically nothing but a small bag and the clothes on his back. He was a go-getter. He improved his English language skills by talking everyday with the Mailman. He managed to get himself enrolled in college and worked his tail off to pay his bills. Of course his determination and love of learning led him to graduate college with a degree in chemistry, earn an MBA and graduate the Culinary Institute.

Abbas had a long and successful career in the food services business, most recently as the director for Brookdale Community College. Prior to that, he worked at the famous Serendipity Restaurant in NYC before it became so famous. He also had the energy, dedication and intelligence to teach business courses in the evenings at the college. He taught in a way that made learning fun - by relaying his many stories and experiences in life. His love of knowledge was contagious. Just a week ago he was giving us all a lesson on growing and processing coffee.

One of Abe's heroes was a man named Fred Lebow. I don't know how many people knew that, but Abbas told me about it years ago. Fred was a famous race organizer for running in New York and was diagnosed with brain cancer at the age of 58 - then ran the five borough marathon two years later. You can see why Fred was Abbas' inspiration - they both were determined to do what they loved doing regardless of any obstacles.

So of course Abbas was always up for a challenge and he used the inspiration of Fred to carve out his own running records. His basement is like the Runner's Hall of Fame. His races are too numerous to mention but to give you a sense of his accomplishments all you have to know is a few - like the NYC Marathon, the Boston Marathon, and many Spring Lake 5's - the latest of which was only a mere 21 weeks ago on May 29th - which he ran with his son, Tim.

Abbas has done much in his lifetime to be proud of - but there's one thing he did which I believe meant more to him than any of his other achievements - and that is the day he became an American Citizen. My wife, Cindy,& I were at Charlie & Lynn's in Pennsylvania waiting for Abbas & Millie to arrive. We had a weekend planned together. When they got there, Abbas was beaming and Millie nudged him and said, Go ahead - tell 'em, Abe - you've been dying to tell 'em. He told us he had been studying and had taken all the steps to become an American Citizen and he proudly showed us the documentation. Then he collected his well earned hugs.

There are many pictures and plaques hanging on the walls of the Rezvan home. One in particular caught my eye the other day - it's the little plaque that is entitled PAPA. It describes the characteristics and attributes of the man who carries the name, PAPA - and no one has earned the right to carry it more than Abbas.

There are 9 attributes.

The Man with the name PAPA (Characteristics & Attributes)

The man who carries the name PAPA
1-Expression
Known to set a Good Example
I know of no better example of goodness, than the tangible proof of a daughter and son who always made a proud man prouder. In many ways, Katie & Tim reflect the goodness of their father. For those who never had the good fortune to meet Abbas - just spend some time with Kate & Tim and you'll see what you've missed out on.

The man who carries the name PAPA
2-Personality
A Faithful person full of honor
By his own admission, Abbas was not a religious man - but more important, he was spirit filled. He was a faithful friend, father, husband and PAPA. And he lived a life of honor above all else.

The man who carries the name PAPA
3-Natural
Is a keen observer of detail
Abbas knew a lot about many different subjects - and when he would impart his wisdom, he did not speak in generalities, he got down to specifics. I think Millie can attest to the fact that when she was with others and was acting a little too Millie-like, she always was caught by the watchful eye of the Observer of Detail.

The man who carries the name PAPA
4-Instinctive
Quick to react to danger
The way I look at this one is - Abbas was instinctively The Protector to keep his Family shielded from any and all dangers. He would always be the one to carry the burden of worry in a very stoical manner.

The man who carries the name PAPA
5-Emotional
Has a gentle way of speaking
This one goes without say - he was a gentle-man in all he did and said. I've never seen him angry - nor did I ever hear him use disrespectful language. Many times, he was the voice of reason and calm in a world of turmoil and noise.

The man who carries the name PAPA
6-Reputation
There when someone is in need
I don't have to say anything for this characteristic - I just have to glance over at Tim, Katie, Linda or Millie and they know Abbas was always there - in their times of need.

The man who carries the name PAPA
7-Physical
Possesses great vigor
What more can be said - he was Our Marathon Man. He was probably a stronger runner after his triple bypass surgery than before it.

The man who carries the name PAPA
8-Mental
A genuine problem solver
I've always known Abbas to be one to say, we will work it through. Even when he became ill, he never complained - his philosophy was that he would deal with it. His mantra about problems was - it's all right - we will get through this - don't worry.

The man who carries the name PAPA
9-Goal
To succeed even where others fail
Success is measured in never giving up - never surrendering. Abbas had many successes - coming to US, learning the language, getting degrees, working at good jobs, being an adjunct professor. But his greatest success is as a loving human being - full of dedication to those closest to him. Abbas succeeded at being A Lover of all mankind. He had a zest for life, because he had a zest for people - especially his family. Millie often called him DEAR - and Millie too was his DEAR.

To Abbas - it is my honor to say, I love you, My Friend. It is my belief that he is with God and has already heard the words, "Welcome Home, My Friend."

On Monday, when Abbas and I were together in his bedroom, I asked him what I can do for him. He looked up at me with an expression that had only one thing written on it and he said to me in his very formal way, "Joseph, pray for me, my friend."

I promised him I would - and I'd like to invite anyone here, if they would like to join me right now in fulfilling that promise.

Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name
Thy kingdom come
Thy will be done in earth as it is in Heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. AMEN

I'd like to finish with a poem - I don't know who the author is but I found it comforting and hope you do to. It's called "His Journey's Just Begun"

Don't think of him as gone away
His Journey's just begun
Life holds so many facets
This earth is only one

Just think of him as resting from
The sorrows and the tears
In a place of warmth and comfort
Where there are no days and years

Think how he must be wishing
That we could know today
How nothing but our sadness
Can really pass away

And think of him as living in the
Hearts of those he touched

For nothing loved is ever lost
And he was Loved So Much.

Thank you Millie for this great honor of being able to speak about MY FRIEND

Gob Bless Abbas and God Bless us all.

Posted by Cate at 08:34 PM | Comments (16)

October 21, 2004

No More Pain

Dad passed away last night at 730pm. We were all there with him. He was only 63 years old. O'Brien Funeral Home in Belmar, NJ will be handling all the details.
I miss you Daddy and I love you very much.

Posted by Cate at 06:59 AM | Comments (89)

October 18, 2004

Waiting

Stuff about my dad.

I was at Dad's today - he didn't even know I was there. He spoke to me but thought I was someone else. He got up this morning and tried to get dressed to go to work. My sm is having an awful awful time - she promised him she would let him die at home.. with dignity.. she can't care for him.. not at this level. She's all torn up about having him go to the care center. It's killing me to know that my dad is still alive but he's not here. But, the type of care that he needs - she can't give. I can't give.. I want to - but I can't.
When I was there yesterday, I was in the bedroom, chatting with him about the Jets game and other little stuff. He was responsive. At one point, after his medication, he was sleepy. I helped him into bed and sked him if he needed anything else. He said yes and tilted his head down so I could give him a kiss. So I did. I told him that I loved him as I tucked him into bed. I tiptoed out of the room and closed the door.
I wish this didn't hurt so much.

Posted by Cate at 04:47 PM | Comments (11)

So tired

I stayed up late to watch the Yankees finish off the Red Sox. Imagine my surprise that the Red Sox actually won. What a game! I hate watching teams get slaughtered so a good exciting ball game was fun to see.

The four of us visited Dad yesterday. There's not a lot to say. Eldest was pretty freaked out at the sight of my Dad. The last time she saw him, he was ambulatory, he had his mustache, some hair on his head and he wasn't jaundiced. Yesterday - she barely went near him and, sadly enough, he didn't even notice. Maybe that wasn't so bad. I think *he* would have felt awful if he knew Eldest was scared of him because of his "yellow eyes". I am hoping to bring her back next week and that will probably be her last visit.
Honestly, I don't know how much longer his body will be able to hold up against all the poisons and toxins in his bloodstream. His lover is pretty much nonfunctional. My stepmom is wonderful. She is trying so hard to do everything she can for Dad. He didn't want to die in a hospital. He wanted to be at home, with his family and everyone who cares for him.
Christ - I am just babbling and crying while I type. I don't want him to die.. but I hate watching him suffer. Cancer is a hideous horrible disease. No one should be suffering from it. No one.
I've got to get ready - Youngestand I will be there for a little while this morning. I also will be going in to Eldest's class to help her teacher this afternoon. My FIL will be down to stay with Olivia. I'll blog more later.

Posted by Cate at 07:53 AM | Comments (8)

October 15, 2004

Damn

I just got off the phone with my stepmom. Dad is not really well. He is confused, most likely due to the heavy duty medications. It's really coming down to a matter of time.
Goddamnit. It's not fair.

Posted by Cate at 11:50 AM | Comments (7)

October 13, 2004

My Dad

I've got a huge entry below... read at your own risk ; - )

O and I got to Dad's place by 915am. I knew something was wrong when I walked in and saw him laying on the bed using the O2 machine. He was having a lot of pain. For Dad to admit to pain, it must have been pretty bad. I checked his medication sheet (all the info about when he last took his meds) and he had taken a painkiller only an hour earlier. It didn't even touch the pain.
I called hospice and then my stepmom. The nurse called back within 10 minutes and said for me to give him another dose of painkillers (oxycodone) and she would be over within 40 minutes. After I gave Dad his meds, I called my stepmom back. She and I discussed a couple things and she left work to come home ASAP. Luckily, after about 15 minutes of Dad taking the meds, the pain was reduced. His back aches badly. I was leaning on his back as well as massaging it. He wanted O to stand on his back. Ok. She walked along near his right shoulder blade. He said he felt somewhat better. Shortly thereafter, he fell asleep.
The nurse arrived pretty quickly. She examined him and scolded him (nicely) for not taking the additional meds. He was permitted to take 2 oxycodones every 3 hours and he was only taking 1. My stepmom got home around this time as well. The 3 of us as well as my Dad were in his bedroom, discussing some options. I mentioned to the nurse about dad having a helluva time breathing and did she think that steroids would work for him? The nurse agreed with me and said that since she would be calling the doctor, she would ask him what he thought.
While she placed the call to the doctor's office, my SM made some tea for Dad and I brought it in for him. I also snagged a stella doro cookie for him since he hadn't eaten at all today. I think he started to perk up a bit after that. I have say here that Dad's doctor rocks. He had the nurse paged right away and she was able to call his office and the office patched the call directly to the doctor at the hospital. All of that within 15 minutes. Wow. His doctor was very upset about Dad's final diagnosis from the cancer institute and said that whatever he could do for him, just to call at any time and he would help. I want to hug this man, I really do.
So, the doc upped his oxycontin, still wants him to take the oxycodone for any breakthrough pain, prescribed the steroid for his breathing and also compazine for nausea. I hope this works for now.
As for Dad's overall health, not good news at all. He is failing. The nurse said (to me and my SM) that Dad will start showing signs of confusion and also very very tired. All that is being done at this point is just to ease his pain and make his remaining time as comfortable as possible. I don't know how much more time he has left - weeks, a month, several months.... I just don't want my dad to hurt anymore.
I know I have to say something to the girls... and soon. They do know that Grandpa is very sick but I don't want to leave it at that. I think I will be bringing them both up to see him while he is somewhat able to speak to them. I am not ready for this.

Posted by Cate at 01:44 PM | Comments (17)

Good morning

Well - it's Wednesday. The week is halfway over. Oy, and still I have so much to do!
Of course, I am headed to my dad's house this morning. I think he wants to go out and do a couple errands. We shall see how he feels. Yesterday, I did get more information about his family back home in Iran. I wish I had kept in contact with my cousins and other family members. I feel sad that I don't really even know them at all. I might try to connect with them at one point... but not now..
Have a great day. Ciao!

Posted by Cate at 08:16 AM | Comments (2)

October 12, 2004

A moment

Dad was doing ok today - he gets winded so easily now. It's really hard to watch. It's even harder not to jump in and finish his sentences or whatever minor thing he is doing. ::sigh:: He is also starting to show signs of jaundice in his eyes and in his skin tone as well. he has been using oxygen at home. Hospice has been called in and they have pretty much taken over his care.

Damn - I need a drink. Anyone want to go out? I need to get really drunk.

Posted by Cate at 04:30 PM | Comments (10)

Dad's place

O and I will be heading over to visit my dad this morning. I hope he's feeling up for visitors....

Oh - I was going to jump on the photo thingie/meme bandwagon but it looks like it's too late. If anyone wants to see pics, email me what you would like to see and I'll post 'em up tonight.

Posted by Cate at 07:45 AM | Comments (5)

October 04, 2004

Devestated

My brother just left me a message about my dad.

It's bad.. about as bad as it could be. The cancer has spread. All over his liver and in his lungs. The doctor is now basically discussing my dad's quality of life and just making him as comfortable as possible. There is really nothing that can be done for him.
Nothing.

Posted by Cate at 12:34 PM | Comments (46)

September 27, 2004

Pacing

I am so worried about dad right now... I hope he's ok.. ugh.. I hate this.. ::sigh:: Oh thank God - P is home...
I'm leaving now.

Posted by Cate at 09:37 AM | Comments (15)

Another call

Millie, my stepmom, just called me again. She wants me to come up to the ER. Dad just went down for a CAT scan. The doc thinks he might have a pulmonary embolism. Shit.
Husband is on his way home in a few and I will be at the hospital. Keep those healing thoughts coming. We can use everything we can get.

Posted by Cate at 08:40 AM | Comments (5)

Early morning phone call

I just got a phone call from my stepmom. Dad is at the hospital. He has been having problems breathing the past few days. I think it must have gotten pretty bad for my dad to willingly go to the ER. He was supposed to go to the Cancer Institute this morning with my stepmom to do some bloodwork. This clinical has been really kicking the crap out of him.
Any happy and healing thoughts for my dad would be greatly appreciated.

Posted by Cate at 06:49 AM | Comments (5)

August 29, 2004

More family fun

My SIL, BIL, niece (3.5) and nephew(2) as well as my other SIL came over for a swim and BBQ today. Lots of fun. All the kids had a great time. My nephew is adorable - just this chunky adorable toddler. I just want to squeeze him! My niece, well, she's a little more reserved but still awfully cute. I just want to kidnap her and have her live with us!
How was your day?

Posted by Cate at 09:44 PM | Comments (1)

August 27, 2004

Six Flags

We all had a GREAT time at Six Flags. The safari was ok... the animals don't even give a crap about the vehicles driving through. They seems.. well.. BORED. LOL. I was half expecting a giraffe to walk up to the car and say "How YOU doin'?".
The rides were fun. I didn't go on many at all. I was going to bring the girls on the teacups but someone has bucketed in one of the cups and the kid was busy cleaning. He said he would be a while. Ew.
I have a ton to do today - cleaning, baking, food shopping, all the fun stuff. Mom and her bfriend will be down tomorrow to go swimming and a BBQ. We are having a very small birthday party for him and we are just gonna relax and have fun. I hope the weather stays nice.

Gotta run!

Posted by Cate at 10:33 AM | Comments (0)

August 26, 2004

Six Flags!

We're outta here in about 20 minutes. Be good!

Posted by Cate at 07:57 AM | Comments (3)

August 19, 2004

Worthy Cause

Please read below.

My brother has recently started training for a mini-triathlon in late September. He will be swimming 0.9 miles, biking 25 miles and running for 6.2 miles. He is doing this to raise money for the Leukemia-Lymphoma Society. Our mother was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma in 2001. Raising money to fight this disease is something that he wanted to do to help her cause. If he commits to raise $2,900 for the cause, a program within the Leukemia-Lymphoma Society will help him train for the race. They are providing him with coaching support, a training regimen and pool training time.
To get the fundraising going, he has also pledged $500 towards his goal of $2,900. He was hoping some people might be interested in supporting this cause to help him cover the difference, Any amount will be appreciated because it will bring him closer to his goal. The good news about the donations is that they are 100% TAX-DEDUCTIBLE.
Click <b><a href="http://www.active.com/donations/fundraise_public.cfm?key=tntnycTRezvan"target=_blank>here</a></b> if you would like to donate using your credit or debit card. If you would rather donate by check, please email me and I will give you my mailing address. Any amount you can give to the cause would be appreciated and will help my brother reach his goal. Please email me if you have any questions.

Thank you.

Posted by Cate at 01:13 AM | Comments (0)

August 11, 2004

Here.. and gone again

The girls had a great time at the playdate. We stayed until 30 minutes before my 6pm chiro appointment! I hauled ass over to Dr. K and got right in for my very much needed adjustment. Oh my GAWD - I felt so much better after the adjustment. And this morning, no back pain at all. None.
Oh, after the chiro appointment, we hauled back home. Now it was 7pm and the girls hadn't even eaten dinner. I whipped up some quick favorites for them while P conked out on the couch. Poor guy. I let him sleep while we three ate our late dinner. I gave both girls their baths, their nightly meds and then we kicked back in my room to watch SpongeBob SquarePants. The girls went to bed by 9pm. P woke up around 815pm. After the girls went to bed, we sat together and chatted while I finished M's ponco. It's SO cute. I'll post pics later. We headed to bed at 11pm. Early by my standards!
So, here I am at 815am. Urgh. I am going to my Mom's house to clean for her. Hey, I'm getting paid! Woohoo! Then, we are going to buy the girls their school shoes and sneakers. Happy joy!

Catch you guys later. Now make sure you be-HAVE (in my best cheesey Austin Powers voice) and don't have too much fun without me!

Posted by Cate at 08:13 AM | Comments (2)

July 31, 2004

Family

My niece and nephew just left. We had such a nice time with them. We all went in the pool - except P who was napping - and the kids had SO much fun. My nephew is adorable - all chunky legs and cheeks. He is one solid 2 year old. My niece is very dainty and just so precious (and knows it!) for 3 1/2. They all wrecked O's room. Toys are everywhere. LOL. At least they had fun.
We got some really awful news about another family member but I can't discuss it here. Just know that it's not pretty and if anyone can spare a prayer, it will certainly be appreciated.

Posted by Cate at 06:07 PM | Comments (2)

July 18, 2004

Fun visit

We had a great time visiting with Dad, M, my stepsis and bil, niece and my brother. I gave <a href="http://www.katespot.com/archives/shawl1.php" onclick="window.open('http://www.katespot.com/archives/shawl1.php','popup','width=528,height=354,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0'); return false">this shawl</a> and a pair of crocheted flip flops to my step mom. I gave my Dad a couple <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000WN0PA/qid=1090199632/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/102-1894573-4109765?v=glance&s=dvd"target=_blank>Abbott</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0001FGBZM/qid=1090199632/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-1894573-4109765?v=glance&s=dvd"target=_blank>Costello</a> dvds and an awesome book "<a href="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0967007666.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg"target=_blank>Gardens of Persia</a>". I also made a pair of the flip flops for my stepsis and niece. They all loved the flipflops and my stepmom really loved the shawl.
We spent the afternoon there and got back home around 8pm. We just got the girls in bed a few minutes ago. P is relaxing and watching "<a href="http://www.usanetwork.com/series/the4400/flash.htm"target=_blank>The 4400</a>" on USA. Whoa - talk about a creepy show. I think I am hooked..

So tell me - what's going on with your lives?

Posted by Cate at 09:46 PM | Comments (4)

Goin' out!

We are off to visit my dad and step mom. Catch ya later!

Posted by Cate at 01:00 PM | Comments (0)

July 11, 2004

Sleeping late

All four of us slept until 10am. Me, P, my 8 and 4 year olds.
<b>10 AM</b>

How weird is that?

M has a birthday party to attend at 330pm. Mini golf and ice cream. So, my the time she gets home, she is really going to want to eat dinner - NOT! I didn't pick up a gift for the birthday boy so we need to head to WalMart or KMart and get something. Oy.

Posted by Cate at 11:46 AM | Comments (3)

July 08, 2004

Today, while Mom and I

Today, while Mom and I were sitting out on the deck, she looks over at me and says "Oh my God. I just noticed you have so many gray hairs!"

Umm.. thanks Mom. Thanks bunches.

Posted by Cate at 09:23 PM | Comments (5)

Happy Birthday

to my beautiful daughter. I can't believe you are 8 years old today. I am so incredibly proud of you and I love you so very very much.

Then

View image

Posted by Cate at 09:47 AM | Comments (6)

July 05, 2004

Late Start

I had hoped to be on the road by now - HAHAHAHHAHHAHAHAAHA!

Ok - that was pretty funny... Hopefully, we will be leaving within an hour, stopping at the supermarket and gas station THEN driving to Cape May. I will be back on Wednesday so posting will be very light unless I use AudBlog. Of course, I didn't even think to ask for guest bloggers ::smacking self in head:: So, if anyone wants to guest blog and gets back to me in 30 minutes, I will try to set you up asap!
All you kids play nice while I'm gone! I'll miss you! ::smooches::

Posted by Cate at 09:33 AM | Comments (6)

July 04, 2004

PACKING!

I have been doing laundry and packing all day. You would think we will be gone for weeks and not just 3 days/2 nights. But, this is the reality of traveling with a food allergic child. I am bringing everything that I know she can eat. We won't be eating at the loca restaurants, just grilling and cooking at my SIL's beach house. I don't care. I just want her to be safe so we all can relax and have a wonderful time.

We had a ton of fun yesterday. The fireworks display was awesome - one of the best displays I have seen locally. Shhhh - don't tell anyone that P has a few sparklers and things to shoot off tonight.

I hope you all had a wonderful - and safe! - Fourth of July!

Posted by Cate at 08:20 PM | Comments (2)

July 03, 2004

Visiting

We will be visiting my inlaws today. I am making cookies to bring over for dessert. After dinner, all of us, including my inlaws, will be going to a local town's fair event. There will be fireworks too.
Wish us luck!

Posted by Cate at 11:56 AM | Comments (2)

June 12, 2004

Wonderful day

Everything was wonderful today. Good food... great company...

I want to thank <a href="http://www.therapyfailed.com">Kristin</a> and <a href="http://www.gigglechick.com/erin/blog/">Erin</a> for their most thoughtful gifts. Thank you so very very much.
{{{hugs}}}

Posted by Cate at 09:37 PM | Comments (1)

June 11, 2004

Terrible news

Just got a phone call from my stepmom about my Dad.

The cancer has gotten worse.

It had spread to his liver and he was on some serious chemo to blast the tumors away. It didn't do anything. Now there are even more tumors on his liver. He is due for a treatment of Erbitux (the Martha Stewart drug - heh) on Wednesday. He has to have it at the hospital due the possibility of some type of reaction.

Why? Why the hell is this happening? My poor Dad... I don't even want to think about what might happen if things get worse...

God - I need a drink.

Posted by Cate at 02:48 PM | Comments (16)

June 03, 2004

Got a call

last night from Dad. He had come home. The doctors took blood in order to test him and see what was wromg. He will be seeing his oncologist today and getting more information at that time.

Thank you for all the well wishes and prayers for my Dad. {{{hugs}}}

Posted by Cate at 08:09 AM | Comments (5)

June 02, 2004

Not fair

I just got a call from my stepmom - dad is in the ER. He's running a low grade fever and had somewhat passed out earlier this afternoon, before my stepmom got home from work. He has his chemo today so they think it might be a reaction to that. My stepmom stressed that I am NOT to come to the ER but she will call me later with his status.
Poor Dad.

Posted by Cate at 07:51 PM | Comments (11)

June 01, 2004

Visit

My dad is coming down this afternoon for a visit. He has his chemo again tomorrow. I wish those damn tumors on his liver were gone already. ::sigh:: Let me tell you that this man does not look like he has cancer. Seriously, the chemo has had no weird physical effect on him. It's the strangest thing I have ever seen. He ran in a mini marathon this past Saturday so I will have to find out how he placed. Anyway, he is bringing a steak down and we are gonna grill that puppy for dinner. Yum. My dad is an awesome awesome <strike>cook</strike> chef. He has had training at the <a href="http://www.ciachef.edu/"target=_blank>CIA</a> in Hyde Park, NY. He runs a very large food service program as well.
M also has her last 4-H meeting at 7pm tonight. P will be taking her and I will be home with Dad and O.
I have more cleaning to accomplish before Dad gets here.

Bye!

Posted by Cate at 12:24 PM | Comments (3)

May 24, 2004

New pics

Click <b><a href="http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=4365255&uid=446796">here</a></b> to see the girls and P shooting model rockets.

Posted by Cate at 12:10 AM | Comments (3)

May 23, 2004

Early

We are off to go shoot some rockets this morning... the girls are all excited. They have been out a few times with P before but this is my *first* time. I am usually conked out when they leave. I promised I would go with them today.
Have a great morning!

Posted by Cate at 07:45 AM | Comments (0)

May 22, 2004

Busy day

Shrek 2 was a riot. I cracked up through the whole movie. Thank goodness the adult references went over the girls' heads... I don't want to have to explain them!
The pool needs to be shocked - badly. Hell, I know I am going to be shocked at the cost of this damn pool this summer! For the past two years we have been using Baquacil - a non chlorine system. This year, P and I said f*ck it and we are going with chlorine. The other stuff costs too damn much..
We *just* finished up dinner about 20 minutes ago. Late night for us...

Well - off to help P with the pool...ew....

Posted by Cate at 07:51 PM | Comments (3)

May 19, 2004

Nana

My Nana died on May 19, 2001.

I got the call from my Mom while I was driving on the GSP to go visit Nana at the hospital. I just KNEW when I saw my Mom's number come up on my phone.. All she said, at first, was not to go to the hospital, go to her place. I kept saying why why... I knew why. Then she told me, crying, that Nana just died. I had to pull my car over and I bawled. God - I miss her so damn
much it hurts. I can't even talk about her without crying. She was such a fighter..she didn't deserve to die - not this way... Thank GOD the drs said she didn't suffer, at least not at that moment. I had just seen her the night before - She was so cranky! I was trying to show her the proofs of M and O's portraits. She didn't want to see them at first... But, she needed to use the bedpan and I got the nurse for her. She was trying to send me hone but I didn't leave - I remember calling my Mom and telling her that Nana was being cranky. I went back to chat with her some more.. She suddenly asked to see the proofs of the girls. So, I pulled them out, got her glasses and she picked the 1 picture of the girls that me and Mom had agreed upon as the best picture. I remember chatting with her for a few more minutes and she kept telling me to go home. I gave her a kiss, told her that I loved her and I would be back tomorrow to visit. And..that, my friends, was the last time I saw my Nana....

I love you Nana and I miss you so very very much..

<img alt="Nanasmiling.jpg" src="http://www.katespot.com/archives/Nanasmiling.jpg" width="640" height="480" border="0" />

Posted by Cate at 08:44 AM | Comments (9)

May 03, 2004

Visit

Mom came down today for Grandparents/Special Adult Day in M's class at school. She also came with me to pick up O from preschool. Lots of fun!
Mom stayed for lunch and just left a little while ago.
It's cold and icky outside - drizzling too. Ugh. We were so spoiled this weekend with the nice weather. I guess I can sacrifice a Monday as long as the weekend is good!

Posted by Cate at 01:27 PM | Comments (3)

April 18, 2004

Special Day

Today would have been my Nana's 81st birthday. I miss you and Pop so much.
I love you.

Posted by Cate at 07:07 PM | Comments (0)

April 02, 2004

Shopping

Mom and I are going shopping tonight. She wants to buy me a new "Easter outfit". Ohh boy..

Posted by Cate at 05:37 PM | Comments (1)

March 19, 2004

At Mom's place

The surgery went well - I just got back to her place about 45 minutes ago. Will update more later...
:::smooches:::

<i>Update</i>
Ok - I ate dinner so I am feeling a little better now. Details are in the extended entry

I got to the hospital by 740am. I went upstairs to Ambulatory Care and Mom was already there. The nurse called her in around 815am. She was getting prepped for surgery, etc.. Dan and I got in to see her by 830am. She was already hooked up with an IV line and in a narrow transport bed. She was there until 11am. They wheeled her off to the OR and we got to hang out in the waiting room. Her procedure was supposed to be at 1030am. She didn't even go in until noon. We saw the suregon around 130pm and he gave us the update about Mom. The surgeon removed the cyst - about the size of a pea - and he believes that it is benign. Of course, he sent it to the lab and the test results will be in hopefully by Tuesday. She has to make a follow up appointment with the surgeon for 3/30. <a href="http://www.gigglechick.com/erin/blog/index.php">Erin</a> - you know the surgeon - remember Carney DeSarno? Class of 1985? Well - he's a DOCTAH now. Small world.
She wasn't able to get out of the recovery area and back up to Ambulatory Care until 330pm as there were no available beds until that time. David was the nurse that was assigned to her. He was an incredibly good looking black man with a great set of shoulders and arms. ::rowr:: He was nice enough to get Mom a sandwich and ginger ale. She was so hungry! While she was eating, another nurse brought Mom her clothes. After she finished eating her sandwich, Mom got dressed. David went over some medical information with and we were able to leave shortly after that. On the way home, I called my brother and let hin know what was going on with Mom. I got to Mom's house by 4pm and helped out with some stuff around here. I will be heading home in about an hour. I am beat.
It's been a looooong day.

Posted by Cate at 05:45 PM | Comments (11)

March 10, 2004

Stress Management

Thank you all so very very much for your kind emails and comments. I am truly touched {{{hugs}}}
As for me, I am just trying to keep busy. I have a lot of Girl Scout paperwork to do so I am diving into that and catching up with phone calls. O is playing computer games and staying busy.
I'll try to write more later.

Posted by Cate at 11:28 AM | Comments (6)

March 09, 2004

Double Whammy

I don't know if everyone who read me knows abotu my parents. They are divorced - have been since I was about 14 years old. Dad married a really wonderful woman and I think he is pretty damn lucky to have her. Mom never remarried but she is in a committed relationship with D - since like forever.
Mom was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma in 2001. She has had multiple courses of chemoptherapy and it was looking very good for a while.
She just discovered a lump on her cheek by her ear last night. The doctor wants a biopsy done by her surgeon ASAP.
Dad was diagnosed with Colon Cancer almost one year ago. He had surgery to remove a very large tumor and had undergone chemotherapy as well. He had finished his chemo and was doing so well. There was a spot on his liver that was diagnosed in the summer that had gotten larger and there was also the possiblilty that another spot was there as well. I heard from M (stepmom) today - Dad has cancer in his liver. He has to start a new chemo for several months then most likely surgery.
I can't believe this - it's not goddamn fair.

Posted by Cate at 10:24 PM | Comments (28)

March 07, 2004

Fun fun weekend!

Had lots of fun - will write more later..

Don't forgot - The Sopranos are on at 9PM EST!!! Woohoo!

Posted by Cate at 05:30 PM | Comments (2)

March 06, 2004

Hangin' at the inlaws

Our Girl Scout event went very well. Too bad only 7 of my 14 girls decided to show up ::eyeroll:: After the event, M and I met P and O at my inlaws. We are having a nice visit. I decided to jump online for a few minutes.
I hope you are all having a great day!

Posted by Cate at 02:30 PM | Comments (1)

March 02, 2004

All's quiet

They are alseep - M, O.. and yes, P too. He is conked out on our bed, on top of the covers, completely dressed. I just turned the lights off and left him there.
Hmm - what to do?? Surf my reads? Well - I did most of that. Laundry? Loads are in the washer and dryer. Watch television and crochet? Now that sound slike a GREAT idea.
Catch ya later!

Posted by Cate at 09:40 PM | Comments (1)

February 19, 2004

Illness update

Hmmm - let's add M to the sore throat brigade. She was crying about her throat this morning so I am keeping her home. O's coughing so she is home too.
Gonna be a looooooooong day.

Posted by Cate at 07:48 AM | Comments (2)

February 13, 2004

Fun time

We had a great time today seeing Mom and her friend. They left around 330pm. The girls are outside now - burning off some serious energy. They are like caged animals that have just been released back into the wild, running around the front yard screaming and laughing. O just wants to play with M so badly and M is just too "cool" to play with little kids. Well - tough **** kiddo. You are gonna play with your little sister and enjoy it! I feel like I must entertain the girls constantly. Don't they have enough toys and games to occupy their time? I feel guilty that I am not "doing" things with them. But, sometimes, I HAVE to get things done - like dinner.
::sigh::

Posted by Cate at 04:22 PM | Comments (1)

January 10, 2004

Family party

It went well- the cupcakes were a huge hit as well as the Mickey Mouse cakes. M is sleeping over at a friend's house. P and I let O stay up until 1015pm. I am too pooped to write any more tonight. My hands are all sore and starting to crack. Wicked case of dry skin. Ick.
Eucerin is my friend.

Goodnight!

Posted by Cate at 11:12 PM | Comments (2)

January 05, 2004

The witching hour

I have found that the times between 4pm and 6pm are not the best times for all four of us. I know for a fact that <i>someone</i> is going to get yelled at and sent to her room at least twice. It just seems that is the time when we are all on top of each other, homework, dinner preparation... all that fun stuff.
When is YOUR family's witching hour?

Posted by Cate at 06:03 PM | Comments (9)

Food Shopping

I just got back from Shop Rite. I got there around 9am and I *just* got home and unloaded the car 15 minutes ago. They were having a HUGE sale on canned goods. Holy Cow. It. was. PACKED! I think Monday is senior citizen day. But, I made it out alive. Of course, it's raining too. I didn't even get everything I needed. I still have to go BACK to ShopRite for bottled water and more canned goods. I also have to stop at Walmart for paper towels and 10 gallon sotrage containers. I gotta clean up Christmas and I want to organize it ::insane laughter::: as I put it all away.
Off to unpack groceries. I hope I make it out of the kitchen. I am blasting some Sinatra - always great to listen to on a rainy day. ::dancing into the kitchen::

Posted by Cate at 10:41 AM | Comments (3)

January 02, 2004

Update

Just got off the phone with my sis in law (who has acute bronchitis). My MIL is having angioplasty done today. Yikes. I am not sure what other procedures are being done as of now. I am sure my FIL is up with her now. Poor guy. I don't think he is feeling well either. Poor guy.

Posted by Cate at 11:55 AM | Comments (5)

November 05, 2003

Trip Recap

We had so much fun yesterday.

We left at 830am. We needed to get gas and we had to stop a couple times for pee breaks but we managed to get to Easton by 11am. P and I didn't tell the kids where we were going so it was a HUGE surprise when we arrived.
The &lt;a href="http://www.crayola.com/factory/index.cfm?action=plan.about"&gt;Crayola Factory&lt;/a&gt;, which really isn't a working factory, was so much fun. There was just so much to do and see!
Outside the factory, there were several mule statues. &lt;a href="http://www.milesofmules.org/about.html"&gt;Miles of Mules&lt;/a&gt; is a public art project, very similar to the &lt;a href="http://www.cowparade.org/"&gt;Cow Parade&lt;/a&gt;.

I took a bunch of photographs and I &lt;a href="http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&amp;gid=3053802&amp;uid=446796"&gt;uploaded them last night.&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;a href="http://www.eastonmuseumofpez.com"&gt;The Pez museum&lt;/a&gt; was so cool. O was in heaven - Pez is one of the few candies O can eat. Needless to say, we bought a bunch of Pez dispensers. They also had the &lt;a href="http://www.slinkystore.com/?OVRAW=original%20slinky&amp;OVKEY=original%20slinky&amp;OVMTC=standard"&gt;original Slinkys&lt;/a&gt; for sale. Did you know there is a 14k gold Slinky? I think I want one!

Posted by Cate at 11:21 AM | Comments (5)

October 23, 2003

Nice night

Mom ended up staying almost until 7pm. I made beef stew and I have to say it was awesome. I also made baking powder biscuits - yummy! Mom is in the market for a new computer so Husband and I are helping her out. I think we are going to get her an eMachine. Yeah - I know there are some really kick ass systems and I know we could build one for her but she just does email and shops. Husband doesn't have the time to build one for her. For under $500, you can't go wrong. Plus - I think she is getting sick of dial up. Praise the Lord!
I have a crazy crazy day planned for tomorrow. Get this:
Both girls at school by 845am
Gym.
Shower, dress, etc.
Youngestpicked up by 1130am.
Drive Youngestto Mom's place (roughly 30 minutes away).
Stay for 20 minutes then escapeleave.
Stop at the Girl Scout council to pick up some items.
Be at meeting place by 250pm.
Girl Scout meeting 315pm-415pm.
Clean up and leave meeting place by 430pm-445pm (hopefully!).
Rush home with Eldest to eat a quick dinner.
Get her in costume and drive to tae kwon do place for a Halloween party that starts at 6pm.
Leave by 7pm to go back home, praying that Husband is already home with Olivia.
Go to Pampered Chef party witch starts at 730pm.

The kicker - I *want* to do all these things! LOL

Posted by Cate at 09:24 PM | Comments (2)

Yay

Mom is on her way down. She's going to have dinner with us tonight. She wants to see the girls... and, oh yeah, P and I too. LOL.

Posted by Cate at 03:07 PM | Comments (1)

October 19, 2003

Let's go fly a kite

P and the girls are heading for the local elementary school. They are going to fly kites. I had thought about going with them but I decided to let P take them himself. You know - Daddy time. The girls were so excited. Sheesh - you'd think I don't do jack for them. LOL
Hmm - time for a cuppa cawfee!

Posted by Cate at 11:50 AM | Comments (3)

October 14, 2003

Long morning

I am at Mom's place now. I was supposed to be here by 915am to meet the cleaning lady. I got totally trapped in rubbernecking traffic on the Garden State Parkway and never even made it. I had to call my mom (in NC) to get the cleaning lady's phone number. I left a message on her machine, telling her I was sorry I never showed up to let her and for her her to call me so we could reschedule. We drove back home and stopped at the bookstore. I promised to get O the "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" book. The cleaning lady called back and I decided to drive BACK to Mom's place to meet her within an hour.
So - here I am. I *hate* when my mornings get all f-ed up!

Posted by Cate at 11:35 AM | Comments (2)

September 14, 2003

And they sing too!

Mom went overboard and bought &lt;a href="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/archives/wigglegroup.html" onclick="window.open('http://sugar-plum.net/kate/archives/wigglegroup.html','popup','width=329,height=119,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0'); return false"&gt;all of these&lt;/a&gt; for O.
ACK!

Posted by Cate at 07:12 PM | Comments (1)

September 09, 2003

Going to my Mom's place

I am going to hang out with Mom tonight. We have a few things to work on for my kitchen. We will be working down in her basement. She has SO much stuff in her basement - it's literally a workshop. A fully stocked workshop. All that is missing are big table saws and presses. It's so much fun down there!

Here are some pictures:

Heading down into "The Workshop"

&lt;img alt="mom1.jpg" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/archives/mom1.jpg" width="384" height="288" border="0" /&gt;

All those shoeboxs are full of things - marbles, ribbon, glue sticks, you name a craft item, it's in there somewhere!

&lt;img alt="mom2.jpg" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/archives/mom2.jpg" width="384" height="288" border="0" /&gt;

&lt;img alt="mom3.jpg" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/archives/mom3.jpg" width="384" height="288" border="0" /&gt;

&lt;img alt="mom4.jpg" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/archives/mom4.jpg" width="384" height="288" border="0" /&gt;

&lt;img alt="mom5.jpg" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/archives/mom5.jpg" width="384" height="288" border="0" /&gt;

&lt;img alt="mom6.jpg" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/archives/mom6.jpg" width="384" height="288" border="0" /&gt;

&lt;img alt="mom7.jpg" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/archives/mom7.jpg" width="384" height="288" border="0" /&gt;

Note the thread in RGB order

&lt;img alt="mom8.jpg" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/archives/mom8.jpg" width="384" height="288" border="0" /&gt;

Posted by Cate at 02:24 PM | Comments (7)

August 23, 2003

Tough day for P

If you thought my day was long, here's &lt;a href="http://mrPtoyou.blogspot.com/2003_08_17_mrPtoyou_archive.html#106169259733533713"&gt;P's recap of &lt;i&gt;his&lt;/i&gt; day.&lt;/a&gt;

Posted by Cate at 10:53 PM | Comments (0)

August 17, 2003

Lucky

M is at &lt;a href="http://www.monmouthpark.com"&gt;Monmouth Racetrack&lt;/a&gt; with my sis in law and her boyfriend. Must be nice to have such a grand social life.

&lt;img alt="WELCOME.jpg" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/archives/WELCOME.jpg" width="600" height="180" border="0" /&gt;

P, O and I went to Home Depot, picked up a few things and came back home in a tremendous downpour. I am grilling a steak now so I have to run.. will update more later.

Posted by Cate at 06:18 PM | Comments (1)

August 16, 2003

Mom

Mom made it down today. She got here around 10-ism and the girls were so excited to see Grammy. She brought down (more) school supplies for them as well as some school clothes. The bonus - the clothes all fit!! YAY!
They are now in the pool and I am doing laundry. Ugh!

Posted by Cate at 12:32 PM | Comments (0)

August 15, 2003

Cute pic of O

When I peeked into O's room yesterday morning, this is how she was sleeping in her bed. Note her blue pillow in the upper left corner of the photograph.

&lt;img alt="wrongwayO.JPG" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/archives/wrongwayO.JPG" width="425" height="260" border="0" /&gt;

Posted by Cate at 07:27 PM | Comments (6)

August 14, 2003

Heard from my brother

He made it home to Brooklyn. He walked from Manhattan's financial district to Brooklyn. It took him three hours. He said there were so many people walking across the bridge at once that it (the bridge) was actually &lt;i&gt;swaying&lt;/i&gt;. Whoa.

Posted by Cate at 10:25 PM | Comments (1)

July 20, 2003

Quiet

Can you believe everyone in my house is still asleep? I like this - nice and quiet. P and I stayed up too late last night watching an old Bette Davis movie. Plus, he filled in the hole from the well last night.
After dinner last night, we went to WalMart to pick up some stuff that we needed. The usual crap. I had to pick up a gift for my niece. We are having a party at my Dad's place today. A combination birthday and anniversary party. It should be fun..I am off to bake a cake... I'll catch you guys later.

Posted by Cate at 09:58 AM | Comments (2)

July 16, 2003

Pictures!

You know you wanna look! Check 'em out &lt;a href="http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&amp;gid=2445506&amp;uid=446796"target=_blank&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;!

Posted by Cate at 11:38 PM | Comments (3)

Local Fair

The four of us are going to a small fair in town. Will post more later. Bye!

Posted by Cate at 06:01 PM | Comments (0)

July 15, 2003

Yay!

Mom came down a few hours ago. We went shopping and have just finished lunch. I think the pool is next. Plus - she is also coming with us to see M at tae kwon do tonight..
See ya!

Posted by Cate at 02:11 PM | Comments (2)

June 14, 2003

Gift Exchange

Mom and I exchanged gifts today. She also brought gifts for P since his birthday is Monday. She gave us a several gift certificates for Home Depot. I also got a gift certificate for Fashion Bug, a cute little frog for my garden and a bathing suit (YIKES!). Thanks Mommy! **smooches** Gail, who is my Mom's friend and one of the nicest people ever, gave me 5 skeins of yarn, a bag for carrying crochet work and a notebook with copies of her favorite crochet patterns. I was so incredibly touched by her gift. She is awesome.
Everyone left by 5pm. P decided to mow the lawn and the girls stayed outside with him. I puttered around the house, doing dishes, running the dishwasher, packing up leftovers.. all that fun post party crap.
I brought the girls in and they each got baths. They were pretty damn stinky and sticky and just plain old dirty! I popped Treasure Planet in the dvd player AND made popcorn, at the girls' request. Has anyone seen Treasure Planet? I thought it sucked. After the dvd was over, I turned on the tv and found "Attack of the Clones" on HBO. The kids begged to watch it. Sure.. why not?
They just got in bed. Life is good. Robin Williams is on HBO. Woohoo!

Posted by Cate at 10:18 PM | Comments (2)

June 02, 2003

Allergies

Today is going to suck. I have a feeling that M will be sent home today. She is SO sniffly and she says he throat is scratchy. No temperature and is pretty upbeat so I am inclined to think it is allergy related. Possibly due to the ****load of pollen in the air. I told her to try to make it today but if she feels any worse, to go to the nurse. I feel slightly guilty for sending her in but she has missed about 7-9 days of school this year. I know she is a kick-ass student but I don't want her in the habit of just banging out whenever she has the sniffles. ::sigh::
One of O's classmates has her last day of preschool today. Her mom sent in cupcakes, ice cream and juiceboxes for snack - O can have the juicebox. The mom is also sending in PIZZA for lunch! Arrgghh!!! Needless to say, I will be picking O up about 45 minutes early today. Poor kid. She's so good about it too. Whenever someone offers her food, she says "I can't eat it. No thank you." God - it breaks my heart. I am not looking forward to birthday parties when she gets older and makes friends.
Well - off to try to get &lt;i&gt;something&lt;/i&gt; done. Later!

Posted by Cate at 09:00 AM | Comments (3)

May 25, 2003

Finally home!

We got home from my sis in law's about an hour ago. I am exhausted. A good time was had by all. My niece is so freakin beautiful and my 9 month old nephew is just a gorgeous chunky bruiser!
Gonna surf for a while then go to bed!

Posted by Cate at 11:11 PM | Comments (1)

May 20, 2003

My Nana

My Nana died on May 19, 2001.

I got the call from my Mom while I was driving on the GSP to go visit Nana at the hospital. I just KNEW when I saw my Mom's number come up on my phone.. All she said, at first, was not to go to the hospital, go to her place. I kept saying why why... I knew why. Then she told me, crying, that Nana just died. I had to pull my car over and I bawled. God - I miss her so damn
much it hurts. I can't even talk about her without crying. She was such a fighter..she didn't deserve to die - not this way... Thank GOD the drs said she didn't suffer, at least not at that moment. I had just seen her the night before - She was so cranky! I was trying to show her the proofs of M and O's portraits. She didn't want to see them at first... But, she needed to use the bedpan and I got the nurse for her. She was trying to send me hone but I didn't leave - I remember calling my Mom and telling her that Nana was being cranky. I went back to chat with her some more.. She suddenly asked to see the proofs of the girls. So, I pulled them out, got her glasses and she picked the 1 picture of the girls that me and Mom had agreed upon as the best picture. I remember chatting with her for a few more minutes and she kept telling me to go home. I gave her a kiss, told her that I loved her and I would be back tomorrow to visit. And..that, my friends, was the last time I saw my Nana....
Christ - this hurts so damn much - I ****ing miss her. She was only 78.

&lt;img alt="nanasmile2.JPG" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/nanasmile2.JPG" width="408" height="428" border="0" /&gt;

I love you Nana.

Posted by Cate at 08:54 AM | Comments (14)

May 11, 2003

Long weekend

I want to start out by saying thank you SO much for all the wonderful Mother's Day emails and comments! I am sorry I didn't leave any comments today - I have just been able to sit down and blog.
I had a great weekend. We went to Home Depot and then stopped at a great garden center. P bought me some really pretty flowers, some small flowering shrubs and a gorgeous hanging basket. We were planting flowers and setting up a rock garden for most of the afternoon. I think we did a damn fine job. I am not quite finished so I will work on that tomorrow.
While P and I were planting, the girls played in the sandbox. At one point, we were in the backyard getting more stone when I looked up and watch O run. She looked, literally, like Pig Pen from Peanuts. She had &lt;i&gt;so&lt;/i&gt; much sand and dust on her that she created her own dust cloud when she was running. P and I laughed so hard. I wish I had my camera outside.
We finally called it quits around 430pm. All four of us were filthy. I mean, dirt everywhere! I got the first shower. O came trotting in right after I got in my robe. She had sand in her hair, between her toes, down her shirt, in her ears.. all over. When I put her in the tub, the water turned black!! I had to wash her hair twice and I am still not sure I got out all the sand. M got the next shower and thank goodness she wasn't as bad. P had to wait for more hot water as he takes super long hot showers.
When he was showering, I prepped dinner - steak, garden salad, rice, gravy and broccoli. P stuffed himself. He was actually moaning because he was full. Heh. The kids got to bed by 9pm. I missed Six Feet Under (ACK!) so I will have to catch it this week.
Well - that's about all for today.. I didn't even blog about Saturday.. oh well! I am going to try to catch up on some of you guys! See you later!

Posted by Cate at 10:34 PM | Comments (1)

May 06, 2003

Almost a great night

Well - the night ended somewhat badly in this house. Especially if you were aged 6 or under.
P was sitting at the kitchen table while I was on the phone, in our bedroom, with Mary. Suddenly, I hear O start crying, loudly. I yelled to P to check it out. All of a sudden, I can hear him BOOMING at M. Mary paused and then asked if everything was ok. LOL. I figured someone did something to someone else. I ask her more questions about my crochet project. While we are chatting, P opens the bedroom door and says he may need my help. Uh-oh. I just about hung up on Mary (sorry!) and walked out into the kitchen. P is tossing back some ibuprofen and Rolaids.
Apparently, O hit M, who was laying on the couch, in the mouth with a book. M's response? Shove O off the edge of the couch, causing her to fall face first on the floor between the couch and wooden IKEA chair.
They are both punished. No TV tomorrow and no dessert. You would think we were beating them within an inch of their lives by their reactions.
I need a vacation! Anyone want two kids?? LOL!

Posted by Cate at 09:16 PM | Comments (4)

May 01, 2003

My Dad

My stepmom called me this evening. Dad was officially diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer. ::sigh:: I had really hoped things were going to be ok. Poor Dad. He will be seeing an oncologist very soon and will definitely be having chemotherapy.

Posted by Cate at 10:14 PM | Comments (14)

April 26, 2003

They're back home

I hate the doctor that was in the office today. According to him, O has no ear infection and wasn't wheezing. Umm ok. So - he gave P a prescription for an antibiotic and no steroids. WTF? Why? God - I hate that ****ing moron.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!
Luckily, she seems to be feeling better. We will have to keep up on the breathing treatments &lt;i&gt;every&lt;/i&gt; 4 hours.

Posted by Cate at 11:03 AM | Comments (5)

April 24, 2003

More about my Dad

My brother called earlier - Dad is doing fine but is in quite a bit of pain. The nurses set him up with a morphine drip. They also have him sitting in a chair to help improve his circulation. The doctor listened to his belly and heard a lot of gurgling, which is good. Apparently, he really needs to pass gas. Something my dad is pretty good at doing. Heh.

Posted by Cate at 11:53 AM | Comments (10)

I'm home

I love all you guys - all the sweet comments. Thank you so much.

I got to the hospital around 430pm. I found my dad and stepmom in the pre-op room and got a chance to sit and chat with my dad for a little while. He was going in for further prepping by 530pm and would be in the OR within 45 minutes. The surgery is supposed to be approximately 2 hours IF the surgeon was able to go in via laproscope. Then, the anasthesiologist (sic) gave him a shot of happy juice. We kissed him goodbye and left. My brother was waiting for us in the OR waiting area. We walked outside so my stepmom could smoke and then we went to the coffee shop for dinner. We made it back to the waiting area by 545pm and waited. I brought my crochet and some books to read. I managed to get quite a bit completed on my project. Around 7pm, we ran out and got coffee. Came back and waited. And waited some more. One of the two surgeons came out around 830pm and said things had gone well and that the other surgeon would be out soon. 45 minutes later, he comes out. Dad had a lot of bleeding during the surgery but was ok. They cut out the entire section of where the tumor was located and the doctor was able to put him back together. No colostomy bag - thank goodness. The procedure was able to be done with the laproscope. We didn't get to actually see him until 1045pm. The surgeon said Dad would be quite uncomfortable. He was right. Poor Dad. At least they hooked him up with a morphine drip, which he used right after we came in to see him.
I got home around 1145pm. I am exhausted. I will be going up to the hospital tomorrow night to see him. I hope he's doing a little better by then. My stepmom is really exhausted as she has been running around since 6am. My brother followed her home, just to make sure she was ok. I'll try to catch up with all you guys tomorrow.

Posted by Cate at 12:17 AM | Comments (5)

April 23, 2003

Today is the day

for my Dad's surgery. I will be leaving here in about an hour to go to the hospital with my stepmom and brother. Please keep my dad in your thoughts - I really appreciate it!!
O and I dropped M off at her friend's house and headed to the bank and library. Luckily, one of the crochet books I requested was available as well as a cool book about &lt;i&gt;The Sopranos&lt;/i&gt;. I will be able to catch up on all the characters and their association with Tony. With the two books and my crochet project, I will be able to keep busy - I hope.
I'll write more later when I get back home.

Posted by Cate at 03:02 PM | Comments (8)

April 22, 2003

Well - that's that

The girls are in bed. P is in bed.
I am up.
Anyone wanna chat? ::looking hopeful::

Posted by Cate at 10:00 PM | Comments (1)

More about my Dad

My dad will be going in for surgery tomorrow at 4pm. I will be at the hospital with my brother and stepmom. Thanks so much for all of the kind emails about my dad. I am so lucky to have wonderful friends like you.

Posted by Cate at 07:42 PM | Comments (4)

April 21, 2003

Dad

My Dad had an appointment with the surgeon today - he will be going for a stress test tomorrow. If things go well, surgery on Wednesday.

Posted by Cate at 09:51 PM | Comments (8)

April 16, 2003

Awful news

My dad has colon cancer. I just got the call.

::update::
Ok - I spoke with my Step-Mom and got more information.
This was my dad's first colonoscopy. The tumor was so large the doctor was unable to get the tube though. The doctor believes that Dad might have had this tumor for almost 10 years. Right now, they are making appointments for consultations with surgeons and getting PET and CAT scans done. There is a chance that laproscopic surgery could be done.
My head is spinning. It was just about 1 year ago when Dad had to go in for a triple bypass. He was doing SO well. Now this. :sad:

Posted by Cate at 12:14 PM | Comments (18)

March 29, 2003

Post Dinner

M is reading her books for homework and O is at the kitchen table painting. It's quiet. Wheeeeeeeeee!

Posted by Cate at 06:06 PM | Comments (2)

March 28, 2003

My Mom

My Mom got the results from her PET scan - no noticable trace of the lymphoma! YAY! :cloud9: :cloud9:

Posted by Cate at 08:44 PM | Comments (9)

March 26, 2003

Pleasant Surprise!

I received a phone call from &lt;a href=" http://blogland.com/mysinglemomlife/blog/index.php"target=_blank&gt;Kat&lt;/a&gt; tonight! :wave: She called right before the kidlets went to bed so I had to call her back about 20 minutes later. We chatted for at least 90 minutes! It was a blast. You are awesome Kat!

Posted by Cate at 10:48 PM | Comments (4)

March 22, 2003

Another night

Just got the &lt;strike&gt;monsters&lt;/strike&gt; girls into bed. I have to wake up P in an hour. I am watching the new episode of Trading Spaces and I am really looking forward to the smackdown between the 2 women homeowners. :devil:
Heeeheee! Word to Laurie and her awesome looking hair style and color. It looks faaaaaaaabulous. &lt;/end southern accent&gt;

Posted by Cate at 09:20 PM | Comments (1)

March 18, 2003

Recap

Had a nice day today!
My Dad came down around 230pm. I had told M that I would be picking her up at school today and I had a surprise for her. She was begging me to tell her but I didn't say a word. She was pretty surprised to see Grandpa in her school this afternoon! :laugh:
After school, we drove up to PetSmart so Grandpa could buy the girls more fish. They chose 2 Red Flame Platys, 1 White Tetra and 3 Zebra Danios. Now, we have 11 fish currently residing in our tank. Thank goodness it's a 20 gallon tank! I put them in the tank about 6 hours ago and ::knocking wood:: so far so good. No floaters!
&lt;img alt="fishtank.JPG" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/fishtank.JPG" width="418" height="291" border="0" /&gt;

Dad stayed for dinner. The girls were thrilled. They showed off and were just pretty goofy :crazy:
Oh - some pics from yesterday:

&lt;img alt="stpatricksdaygirls.JPG" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/stpatricksdaygirls.JPG" width="269" height="426" border="0" /&gt;

Posted by Cate at 10:52 PM | Comments (5)

March 06, 2003

Not enough time in the day

Oy - just been busy busy today.

We delivered more cookies today. I will be mailing cookies tomorrow to my online customers (you know who you are!) Thanks again guys! :hug:

Posted by Cate at 07:04 PM | Comments (4)

March 01, 2003

Happy Birthday

To a super cool chick who I am proud to call my friend - the wonderful &lt;a href="http://blogland.com/mysinglemomlife/blog/index.php"&gt;Kat&lt;/a&gt;. Happy birthday my friend! :hug:

Posted by Cate at 08:51 PM | Comments (1)

February 26, 2003

Too short

My visit with Stacey was way too short :sigh: I will miss her. Even though we don't get a chance to talk much, we just picked right up where we left off. She and her husband and her inlaws run their own business. The do shows - carnival shows. They own 20 rides, food stands and games. It's an incredible amount of work. I don't know how they manage it. I know I would be crazy by now.

&lt;img alt="katestacey.JPG" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/archives/katestacey.JPG" width="508" height="331" border="0" /&gt;

:hug: Love you Stacey!

Posted by Cate at 04:44 PM | Comments (0)

Too short

My visit with Stacey was way too short :sigh: I will miss her. Even though we don't get a chance to talk much, we just picked right up where we left off. She and her husband and her inlaws run their own business. The do shows - carnival shows. They own 20 rides, food stands and games. It's an incredible amount of work. I don't know how they manage it. I know I would be crazy by now.

&lt;img alt="katestacey.JPG" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/archives/katestacey.JPG" width="508" height="331" border="0" /&gt;

:hug: Love you Stacey!

Posted by Cate at 04:44 PM | Comments (0)

Yay!

OHMYGOD!
My bestest friend in the whole world called me last night. (She and her family lived in NJ for years. I met her at church. Now, they live in Alabama). She and her mom were driving up to NJ last night and she will be visiting me today!! YAY! She's only seen Youngestright after she was born. I think she was a month old. The reason they are coming to NJ - her grandmother had passed away several months ago. They had come up to make arrangements and then had to leave right away. There is going to be a memorial service on Friday and they have to leave on Saturday, driving straight back to Alabama. So - I ran around last night - cleaning up the house. Nothing like last minute company to make me clean.
Youngestis doing better today. She begged me to make pumpkin pie last night. You know, I am so desperate to get her to eat, I actually made the damn pie. Guess what the girls ate for breakfast? Yup - pie. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm. P I E
I was just so happy Youngestactually ATE. She has also had some juice too. I haven't had to beg her to eat - yet.

(some gross details - read at your own risk!)
Yesterday was pretty bad for Olivia. After we got home from the cookie depot and picking up Eldest at the bus stop, she just crashed out on the couch. Occasionally, she would wake up crying due to stomach pains and gas. Of course, she refused to eat so I am sure a lot of those pains could have been hunger as well as a lot of gas. She must have had 5 truly disgusting diarrea mishaps. Thank goodness she was wearing her pull-ups at the time. I don't have diapers for her. Before she was sick, she was wearing her underwear all day and pull-ups at night. Now - it's just constant pull-ups. Talk about nasty! Poor kid - that explains why her butt hurts. 5 gross poops in a row - my butt would hurt too!
Anyway - I have written a book!! Gotta run!

Posted by Cate at 08:44 AM | Comments (3)

February 13, 2003

Peace and somewhat quiet

Well, the girls are watching 101 Dalmations II. P is at ShopRite (:thumbsup:) and I am home blogging...
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Posted by Cate at 08:09 PM | Comments (0)

January 10, 2003

Party for O

We are having a family birthday party for O tomorrow. Something small. Just cake and coffee. I think it will be really nice. She loves seeing her aunties and uncles and her grandparents. I have to start baking tonight. She has requested a cake, cookies AND a pie! Sheesh - what am I? Betty Freakin' Crocker? :laugh:

Posted by Cate at 10:29 AM | Comments (1)

January 09, 2003

Feeling better

Mom came down this morning around 10am. She loved the carpet ::grin:: and we got a chance to chat for a little while. O was pretty happy to see the both of us. Of course, she was fine 20 minutes after I left this morning. The lil booger! She made her handprints on paper, rolled some things in paint and then rolled them on paper and just had a good time.
After we left school, we had to stop at Bruno's to pick up my deli order. Yum! Back home for lunch - O was pretty hungry! She managed to polish off a large tortilla stuffed with ham... as well as chips and pickles and tomatoes and peppers! I guess school will be good for her appetite!
IKEA called - the couch will be delivered tomorrow between 8-noon! YAY YAY YAY!
:cloud9:

Posted by Cate at 02:22 PM | Comments (0)

December 31, 2002

New Year's Eve - Day

Not too much going on at the KateSpot household. The kids are mellowed out (finally) and I am getting ready to make a big ole turkey!! Yum! Gonna make &lt;a href="http://mealtime.blogspot.com/2002_12_22_mealtime_archive.html#90087511"target=_blank&gt;Irish Turkey&lt;/a&gt;. M is going to help.
Speaking of M.. I have a couple questions for you Moms out there..

Do your kids freak out over the smallest things? M is 6 and is becoming extremely whiny. Cries over the smallest things, like when we tell her to put socks on her feet. Refuses to do things, like dry herself off after a bath, brush her teeth, get changed.. It's becoming really frustrating. P gets so angry that he yells at her which, naturally, makes the situation even more tense. I am truly at a loss as to how I should handle this. Any advice would be appreciated!

Posted by Cate at 11:09 AM | Comments (4)

Lovely Party

O loved her birthday! She got to pick her own dinner (Salisbury Steaks, broccoli and rice) and of course, chocolate cake for dessert!
Earlier today, Mom came down and brought birthday gifts. The girls were thrilled to see her - she hasn't been down to my place for several months. She was pretty impressed with all the work that has been done since her last visit. She only stayed for about 45 minutes and headed back home. She wasn't feeling that great but wanted to see O on her birthday.
After Mom left, I made O's cake. The girls were standing on a chair, right next to my mixer. I just &lt;i&gt;knew&lt;/i&gt; they wanted some of the cake mix. Of course, I gave them spatulas with the mix! When the cake was done baking, we headed out to ShopRite and picked up the usual supermarket stuff. I am cooking a 21lb turkey tomorrow. Yummy! I will be making potatoes (mashed and roasted), broccoli, rice (for M) and I will have cranberry sauce too. Gotta make the gravy too. YAY!
O loved her cake - couldn't wait to get through dinner tonight. She ate up a pretty big piece too!
Pics below - mouse over each for a description.

&lt;img alt="O and Mom" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/PC300008.JPG" width="320" height="240" border="0" /&gt;

&lt;img alt="Mmm. Cake" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/PC300013.JPG" width="320" height="240" border="0" /&gt;

&lt;img alt="YAY!" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/PC300002.JPG" width="320" height="240" border="0" /&gt;

&lt;img alt="Watch Mom blow out your candles" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/PC300005.JPG" width="320" height="240" border="0" /&gt;

&lt;img alt="P and O" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/PC300007.JPG" width="320" height="240" border="0" /&gt;

&lt;img alt="M and O" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/PC300009.JPG" width="320" height="240" border="0" /&gt;

Posted by Cate at 12:07 AM | Comments (4)

December 30, 2002

Visit

Mom is coming down for a visit today! YAY!

Posted by Cate at 10:43 AM | Comments (1)

December 29, 2002

Thank GOD this day is over!

The girls have been driving me nuts the past couple days. :banghead: I just want to scream!! In fact - I think I will! :yell: :yell: :yell: :yell:

Whew! I feel better now!

Nothing too exciting going on - just MORE home inprovements. Man - it feels like they will never end. I know it will end.. in fact, they will pretty much be done by 1/6 so the carpet can be installed. As you can tell in the previous pictures, I have stuff &lt;i&gt;everywhere&lt;/i&gt; and it's killing me! I am not a neat freak but what my house has become in the past couple months...ai yi yi! Plus, we have been staying up late at nights so I am pretty cranky too. Good thing I have been watching the James Bond movies on TNN - 7 days of Bond. I prefer Connery over all of the others but I certainly wouldn't kick Pierce out of bed for eating crackers.. if ya know what I mean? :lick: :wink: God - I gotta get... out more.
Hehehe!

Posted by Cate at 09:57 PM | Comments (2)

December 24, 2002

UPS guy

He *just* stopped with P's gift! Hooray! I was worried I wasn't going to get it in time. Go Amazon! Go UPS! My driver is awesome. I can drive by him anywhere in town and he toots his horn and waves. :wave: I guess I do a lot of shopping! I just gave him a small bag of cookies.
Now- the Fedex guy - he just sucks. :laugh:

Posted by Cate at 02:27 PM | Comments (7)

December 23, 2002

Sunday Recap

We had our Christmas at Dad and Millie's place yesterday. It was a load of fun. My niece was there as well as my step-sis and brother in law and my brother. I didn't take a lot of pictures... I forgot about it! Duh!
The girls got some great stuff - Eldest got games for her Pixter, some Hello Kitty things, a PPG computer game. Youngestgot a Barney activity mat (which is getting a good workout today!), a horse (not real!), a talking Po, a baby doll, Bob the Builder viewmaster and reels.. they love their stuff! Thanks Dad and Millie!
We got Dad and Millie a DVD player and a couple other small things and my brother got them some DVDs. Husband will be setting it up for them after the holidays, when they get back from Vegas. LUCKY them!!
We didn't get home until about 730 and then Husband decided that he wanted to hang Christmas lights! WTF? Whatever. I love to decorate but I don't really give a rat's ass about outside lights/decorations. He wants to cover everything with lights...
They didn't get to bed until 930 but luckily slept in until about 830-ish this morning. I was a little sleepy because I stayed up late watching "Harry Potter and the Sourcerer's Stone". Again.

Wait - phone.

WOOHOO! The carpet guys called - installation will be on January 7th! ::happy dance:: :cloud9:

Posted by Cate at 11:09 AM | Comments (0)

December 11, 2002

RAIN!

Tons of rain here in Ocean County NJ. The good thing - it melted all the damn snow! YAY!! :thumbsup:
M's bus was 25 minutes late today. :arg: There was a substitute driver today. I am spoiled. M has an awesome bus driver. I really like her.

:rotfl: O just ran over to me, cracking herself up because M said the word "underwear". She looked up at me, said "UNDERWEAR!", laughed and ran away. Dopey kid!

Posted by Cate at 04:43 PM | Comments (4)

December 09, 2002

Still alive!

Hello!

We have been SUPER busy around the house and with the girls. I &lt;i&gt;promise&lt;/i&gt; I will update later!
:puckerup:

Posted by Cate at 08:33 AM | Comments (0)

December 07, 2002

Wrapping

Well- I have 3 cd's of Manheim Steamroller loaded on my stereo. Wrapping will commence as soon as I have printed out labels for the girls' presents. See - M already knows my handwriting. Crafty, eh? :mischievous:

Posted by Cate at 03:45 PM | Comments (2)

December 05, 2002

Snow pics

I took the girls out for about 30 minutes while it was still snowing. We had a small snowball fight :laugh: I have to say, it's great snowball snow!

&lt;b&gt;Damn snow&lt;/b&gt;
&lt;img alt="PC050002.JPG" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/PC050002.JPG" width="640" height="480" border="0" /&gt;

&lt;B&gt;A tree in my backyard&lt;/b&gt;
&lt;img alt="PC050007.JPG" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/PC050007.JPG" width="480" height="640" border="0" /&gt;

&lt;b&gt;We love snow!&lt;/B&gt;
&lt;img alt="PC050018.JPG" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/PC050018.JPG" width="640" height="480" border="0" /&gt;

&lt;b&gt; Snowball fights make me c-c-cold!&lt;/b&gt;
&lt;img alt="PC050019.JPG" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/PC050019.JPG" width="640" height="480" border="0" /&gt;

Posted by Cate at 02:30 PM | Comments (3)

December 03, 2002

Off to rescue Piglet

O left her favorite stuffed piglet at my Dad's house on Thanksgiving. She has been missing him so much... poor kid. We didn't know he was left behind until we got all the way home. :sigh: She cried. Once we explained that Piglet was having a great time sleeping over Grandpa and Nana Millie's house, she calmed down. M loaned O her piglet and 2 other little plush pigs. How sweet.
So, O and I will be going off in a few minutes to pick up Piglet. She is so excited about it!

Posted by Cate at 10:00 AM | Comments (0)

December 02, 2002

Late start

Ugh - I woke up this morning at 8am! M has to catch the bus by 815 - guess that's not going to happen. Heh
I drove her in by 905am. Not bad at all, considering the sign in sheet at the school was already on it's second page of the morning! Looks like I wasn't the only parent to oversleep!
I have some errands to run.. will catch up more later.
:puckerup:

Posted by Cate at 10:00 AM | Comments (0)

The party..

was a lot of fun. I took a zillion pictures (like any of you are surprised) and I will post some of them up tomorrow. My niece got a &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/detail/-/toys/B0000669FE/qid=1038807715/sr=2-3/ref=sr_2_3/002-9621256-5780000"&gt;Baby Anabelle&lt;/a&gt; and she loved it!
Joanie - call me tomorrow sometime so we can chat!

G'night! :puckerup:

Posted by Cate at 12:43 AM | Comments (1)

December 01, 2002

Off again...

Today is my niece's 2nd birthday. My sis and brother in law are having a family party for her. It should be fun. I haven't seen my nephew since the christening.
Hope ya'll have a great day!
:hug:

Posted by Cate at 12:22 PM | Comments (1)

November 27, 2002

My Afternoon

O and I picked up M from the bus stop early today. She had a half day today. I popped some popcorn and threw in The Phantom Menace. M &lt;i&gt;loved&lt;/i&gt; it. We are now watching Attack of the Clones - Woohoo!

Posted by Cate at 04:13 PM | Comments (0)

November 26, 2002

Tonight

Dinner tonight will be chicken noodle soup with sandwiches. Quick and easy. I am going out with the kidlets tonight while P does more work on the wall and puts in a new fan in the bathroom.
Seems like we might get a little snow tonight too. Well, the car is gassed up, kitchen is stocked and I will probably pick up a bag of rock salt tonight, just in case!

Posted by Cate at 04:46 PM | Comments (3)

Home again, home again jiggity jig

O and I zipped off to the bank, Fashion Bug (got some cute stuff) and then stopped at Brunos to pick up my deli and some sweet sausage. Yum! I might be cooking that for &lt;a href="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/archives/001537.html#001537"&gt;Friday's company&lt;/a&gt;!

Posted by Cate at 01:22 PM | Comments (0)

November 25, 2002

More pics

Check out pics from the other day at Mom's place.

I &lt;B&gt;know&lt;/B&gt; how to write - jeez!
&lt;BR&gt;
&lt;img alt="M and Tim" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/PB230001.JPG" width="640" height="480" border="0" /&gt;
&lt;BR&gt;
Wow - O is pretty flexible!
&lt;BR&gt;
&lt;img alt="Tim, O and M" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/PB230016.JPG" width="640" height="480" border="0" /&gt;
&lt;BR&gt;

Posted by Cate at 04:48 PM | Comments (5)

November 24, 2002

Exhausted

Howdy hi!
P and I raked the whole damn yard - front and back. We filled at least 25 33 gallon lawn and leaf bags! He is passed out in the recliner right now - poor guy.

While we were raking, I was simmering a pot of sauce, baking bread and baking a roast chicken for tonight! I kept running in the house every 20-30 minutes to stir the sauce. I will post the recipe next!

Posted by Cate at 05:33 PM | Comments (1)

November 23, 2002

Home again

We had a great time at my Mom's place. Dinner was delicious. My pumpkin pie was a big hit as well as Mom's apple pie.
I am pooped - will post pics up tomorrow!

Right now I am watching Trading Spaces (Plano, Texas) and I am &lt;i&gt;really&lt;/i&gt; disliking the one Angie. Talk about anal! Although - it is super funny to watch her annoy the **** out of Hildi, who is probably banging her head against the wall :banghead: Mwahahahahaha!
And - look at my gorgeous honey Doug - sporting the unshaven look. Rowr! :puckerup: He looks even more adorable than usual! Is it getting warm in here?

Posted by Cate at 11:44 PM | Comments (3)

Saturday Agenda

Good morning! :coffee:

Big plans today. We are headed to my Mom's place for Thanksgiving dinner. It should be fun since my brother will also be there and the girls just go &lt;i&gt;nuts&lt;/i&gt; when they see him.
I'll update more when I get home. I am sure I will have a couple pictures!:wink:

Have a great day!

Posted by Cate at 10:46 AM | Comments (3)

November 22, 2002

Smells

:cheerful:
My house smells super yummy... fresh bread and pumpkin pie...

:::inhaling:::
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Posted by Cate at 12:47 PM | Comments (1)

November 21, 2002

Hair Cut - after

As requested by Erin, a picture of the haircut. It was just about waist length this morning..

&lt;BR&gt;
&lt;img alt="KateHair.JPG" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/PB210003.JPG" width="640" height="480" border="0" /&gt;

Not too shabby, eh?

Posted by Cate at 10:00 PM | Comments (4)

Busy morning

It was pretty busy here this morning.

P overslept and I overslept - again. O woke up around 5am, coughing. I gave her some Triaminic but it didn't stop her coughing (at that time). She was wheezy sounding so I brought her into the bathroom and cranked the hot water all the way. We sat in the steamy bathroom for about 20 minutes. When I brought her back out, I put her back to bed and she conked out. Thank goodness.
Needless to say, I played the alarm game this morning.. and lost. I drove M to school - I htink I end up doing this at least once a week. It's a good thing we only live 4 minutes from the school :laugh:
I filled out the paperwork for O's preschool. They will be getting a nurse on staff as well as an aid (if needed). So far, her class size is pretty small and I purposfully picked days where there would be low attendance. The teachers would also be trained in using an Epi-Pen. I also explained that I would like to help out any way possible. We shall see what happens in the next month.
Oh - I cut my hair. Took off about 6 inches of hair.

Posted by Cate at 01:27 PM | Comments (2)

November 20, 2002

Burnin' out

I managed to get O a doctor's appointment today. I called at 10am and snagged a 430pm appointment. Ugh - I hate waiting all day to get to the doctor's office but I was just pretty damn happy I managed to get an appointment at all. The receptionist said they have been super busy. Some sort of nasty crap going around. Yeah - it's called &lt;i&gt;school&lt;/i&gt;, a damn hotbed of disease.

We saw a new doctor at the group today. She is super nice - O took to her right away. Dr. F is this tiny little woman and she is just so cute that I wanted to put her in my pocket! :laugh: Anyway, she looks in O's ear and said, "This is the worst ear infection I have seen all day!" Woohoo! So - what do we win? A 10 day supply of Augmentin! She was also having difficulty breathing (&lt;a href="http://my.webmd.com/encyclopedia/article/1660.52664#hw161689"&gt;retracting&lt;/a&gt; - which is using abdominal muscles to help to breathe. Not good) and coughing constantly. She was also prescribed a 5 day course of oral steroids (Prednisone) and breathing treatments (via nebulizer) with albuterol for the next week. Poor damn kid.
I gave her all her meds before I left for my meeting with the Sunday School teachers. P called me an hour later to tell me that O was TOTALLY hyped! Running around and yelling, completely out of her mind. Thank you Prednisone! She didn't get to bed until 930 and I think she just basically collapsed! So far, I haven't heard any coughing or sniffling. Seems like the meds are already working. She should be loads of fun tomorrow!
I got a call from the preschool today. I had placed O on a waiting list to join. It's a preschool run by the township and it is an extremely successfully run program. M learned a lot from when she attended. I spoke to the assistant to the director and explained about O's food allergies, how she is anaphylatic to nuts/dairy and what could I do to help, etc. I will be going down to the school administrative building tomorrow and I will discuss things in further details. I want the teachers to have Epi-Pen training and I want O's pens with her in school. I will do anything needed to get her into this program. The assistant was super helpful. It seems her son also has an Epi-Pen. Small world. I can't wait to go there tomorrow!
Still feeling pretty crappy. I have been chugging Robitussin but I think it's not really doing it for me. I think Sudafed is my best bet.
Well - I am exhausted. Off to bed!
:puckerup: G'night!

Posted by Cate at 11:22 PM | Comments (2)

November 19, 2002

Long Night

Still feeling crappy but poor O has really gotten the worst of it.

The poor kid has just been coughing and sniffling all day and night. P just brought her out of her room. She has been coughing for the past 20 minutes. Now - her ear hurts. I'll be calling the doctor's office in the morning and getting an appointment.
I have a meeting tomorrow evening with the coordinator and teachers from Sunday School. Hopefully, it won't last too long. :cheerful:

Posted by Cate at 11:22 PM | Comments (0)

Still sick

Oh man - I am sick. O is a mess. I hate giving her OTC medications but her nose... :yuck: trust me, it's not pretty.
I hope we are better by Saturday since we are having an early Thankgsgiving dinner at Mom's place. She is getting chemo today. {{{Mommy}}}

Posted by Cate at 11:41 AM | Comments (3)

November 12, 2002

Happy Birthday Tim

To my "little" 6ft brother -
Happy 28th Birthday!
I love you!
:thumb:

Posted by Cate at 09:59 AM | Comments (1)

November 07, 2002

Grandpa

The girls and I visited my Dad at the college today. We had a nice lunch and he showed us around the campus. It looks a LOT different from the last time I was there. It was also some kind of Open House so there was a lot of free stuff - soda, snacks, etc. Dad snagged some cotton candy for the girls :eek: but they were thrilled. I don't like cotton candy - it looks like insulation. Ick.
Of course, I took some pictures, like always. I know, I am a photo junkie. I feel bad for the kids - I am ALWAYS taking their pictures. They are just so darn cute though - I can't help it!
The kids had a great time seeing my Dad. And - being the proud Grandpa, he showed them off to everyone.

Going to visit Grandpa

Grandpa and his girls

O and her cotton candy

My Dad - being a goof!

Enough with the camera Mom

Posted by Cate at 11:19 PM | Comments (5)

November 05, 2002

Pictures!

Check 'em out!

Posted by Cate at 10:58 PM | Comments (7)

November 04, 2002

I'm still here!

Hey everyone! I just know you all missed me so much!
I spent most of today on my knees....

Cleaning! (Sheesh! You people with the dirty minds!)

Yesterday, my nephew was getting christened at 12pm. Husband and I hustled the girls around in the morning. They ate a good breakfast, did the morning routine and got dressed. They had matching outfits which were WAY too cute. Anyway, the christening was taking place in a church over an hour away from us. We leave at 1045am, get gas and haul ass up to St. Rose of Lima in Freehold. The 11am mass was just finishing up. There were NO parking spots ::grr:: so Husband dropped us off at the church and went off to park the car. Mass finally lets out and we are now standing in the church, looking for my inlaws and other friends. No one. Husband asks me "Are you sure it was today?", which totally freaked me out! I called my sis in law, the mother of my nephew and asked her what time the baptism take place. It was at 2pm! Duh.
So, we took the girls to McD's for lunch and they ate quite neatly. We head back to the church and found my inlaws. We sat right behind my sis in law, her hubby, my niece and nephew. He's getting SO big - 2 1/2 months already!
Husband had already spoken to my sis in law and said that we wouldn't be attending the party afterwards. Husband and I made this decision based on the fact that there would be a ton of food that Youngestcan't eat and that my sis and brother in law also have 2 cats and a dog. That's a lot of animal hair, which also gives Youngest hives and she starts wheezing. I felt bad about it but I didn't want to cause any undo stress for my sis in law and Olivia. Besides, I really didn't want to take away from my nephew - it's his day. My sis in law cornered me before we left the church and made me promise to let her know what she can do for the girls, that she would buy anything, just to let her know. She wants to see her nieces. I felt SO bad after that. I promised I would - next time.
We had made plans to visit my Mom after the baptism. She was SO thrilled to see the girls - she hadn't seen them in over a month! She really missed them. Of course, the girls were all over her too! We stayed for dinner and didn't even get home until 930. We tossed the girls into bed and by 1015pm, I had passed out in the recliner! I staggered into bed and was asleep by 11!
We woke up around 830am when Youngestcame in to visit us ::grin:: By 10am, Husband was outside, using the blower. Our lawn was covered with leaves. The girls were also outside, jumping in the leaf pile, playing with the yard toys.. basically having a grand old time! I cleaned.. and cleaned... and cleaned. Washed the sheets, cleaned the bathroom, the kitchen, the living room. I got a garbage bag full of junk out of Eldest's room. It's so much cleaner in there now. Oy - it was a mess.
We let the kids watch Toy Story tonight. I made popcorn and they scarfed a ton of it down! They got to bed by 930 and P is now watching the "X-Files" movie. Ew.

WOW! I have written a book here. I hope everyone has a great night! I am off to read some blogs - g'night!

Posted by Cate at 10:34 PM | Comments (5)

November 02, 2002

My day

We had a very nice day today.. got a lot of things done today before heading out
Hit the bank, pharmacy, Blockbuster, Hallmark store, Fashion Bug and the library. It was pretty nice - we all had such a nice time.
After we got back home and finished lunch, the kids watched their DVD's - Blues Big Musical Movie (Youngest's pick) and The Prince of Egypy (Eldest's pick). Both were quite good. P and I rented "Death to Smoochy", "The X-Files Movies" and "Joe Somebody". We didn't watch them tonight - it's Trading Spaces night! Blockbuster has some sort of pass where, for $24.99, you can rent 3 movies at a time, for as long as you want, for no additional charges. Coooool. Considering I spent over $20.00 to actually rent 5 DVD's - Oy.

Posted by Cate at 10:40 PM | Comments (3)

November 01, 2002

Last Halloween pic!

I have one last Halloween picture of both girls in their cat costumes.

View image

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October 31, 2002

Back Home

Oh man .. what a night!
Husband brought Eldest home around 530 and we all had a quick dinner of hot dogs. We got the girls prepped and we all went out trick or treating.

Now - there is a house that was completely decorated for Halloween. Big blow up things on the lawn, loads of creepy looking characters, giant spiders hanging over the garage. They are *really* into the holidays. The house is a block away from us. Both girls wanted to go see the house on Halloween. At night.
Now, earlier that day, Youngestand I drove by the house and I read a sign that was posted out on the lawn, "Creatures come alive from 6-9." COOL!
So, we go walking over right after leaving the house, around 615-ish. The street was crowded - there were a LOT of people there, checking things out and getting scared. As soon as we walk up the driveway, a person, who was dressed as a really creepy looking werewolf (with those really expensive masks), comes bounding over to us. Eldest immediately lets out a shriek and bursts into tears. She latched onto me and hid her face. Poor kid. Olivia, on the other hand, was just staring at the wolf. A clown with a bloody face also came over and was poking at her pumpkin. Youngestgot upset, only because she dropped her pumpkin! I don't think we were there for 3 minutes total.
After leaving the "creepy house", we went trick or treating. The kids got a lot of stuff. Youngesthad SO much fun and Eldest just loves getting candy! Unfortunately, Youngestcan't eat any of it ::sigh:: Poor kid. Husband had picked up some smarties, pez, licorice and a ton of dum dum lollipops. I swapped the "bad" candy away for the "good" candy. She knew the difference. She is one smart kid.

Baths, books and now bed. Finally, some peace and quiet!

Posted by Cate at 09:39 PM | Comments (2)

Halloween

Husband took a half day today and he is crashed out for a nap already. Gotta love him. That's ok with me. He'll pay for that later - he is taking Eldest all over the neighborhood tonight, trick or treating. Hahaha!

Posted by Cate at 02:32 PM | Comments (5)

Miss Kitty

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The girls

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Spooky O

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October 30, 2002

Peace and Quiet

It was a relatively quiet day here in NJ... mostly rainy.

I drove Eldest to school and then Youngestand I headed to ShopRite. Oh joy. I hate food shopping when it's raining. We were shopping for about an hour before I was able to finish up and head home. I was going to stop at the post office but I never managed to make it there.
Youngestand I just goofed around the house today, slacking off! It's been cold and rainy for the past 24 hours. Ew. I know we need the rain but it's just so darn miserable! My neighbors are in Florida right now. The lucky buggers! I can't imagine what fun it must be to celebrate Halloween in Disney World!
Dinner tonight was just bacon and pancakes. Like I said, I was feeling lazy! :crazy:
The girls were in bed by 8pm and Husband hit the bed about an hour ago. Eldest never even asked about the event at the church tonight ::phew::
I am going to mess around with MT for a little while and then I will also be going to bed.

Posted by Cate at 10:51 PM | Comments (0)