Baby Cali Has Arrived!!!

A week ago Thursday, while the kids were in music class, I opened my cell phone to call the insurance company about a minor car accident I had had the night before. Instead, I got a very special surprise. The phone said that I had a voicemail from Allen, and I instantly knew that baby Cali must have arrived. After listening to his excited message, I rushed around the school telling everyone I could find that Cali was here! They all thought that she was my niece until I explained that she was the daughter of two of my kickball teammates. My day had instantly improved. I coasted through the rest of the day, anxious to call Allen and check in. As soon as my school day was over, I called him for the details. Cali was born at 5:35 in the morning, and both she and Cattina were doing well. Since I was just minutes away from the hospital, I naturally asked if it would be okay for me to stop by and meet the baby. It was such a neat experience because I got to the hospital just in time to see some major events take place. I got to see Cali be foot-printed and got to see all of the proud grandparents hold her for the first time. I was so happy for all of them. Then, I got to hold Cali! While I have held a lot of babies in my time, I must admit that I have never held one so young or so small! She was only 12 hours old at the time! I just remember staring at her and thinking that I couldn't believe we were all that small at one time. I also couldn't believe that two people I have known for so long (since high school) were actually parents. Cattina is really my first close friend to have a baby, so it was pretty surreal to me. Still, it didn't take me long to realize that both she and Allen are going to be fabulous parents. They already seemed to change somehow (not in a bad way, of course)! Seeing the two of them with Cali really made me understand the line from the movie Where the Heart Is where Novalee holds her daughter for the first time and asks, "How can you love somebody so much that you just met?" The entire thing was truly a miracle, and I am so honored that they let me be a part of their special day! I can't wait to watch Cali grow and change through the years.

Mooch's Birthday

As some of you know, Christmas Day is also Ann's (a.k.a Mooch's) birthday. This year, we wanted to do something special for her big day. On Christmas Eve, while Ann was at Mass with her parents and celebrating with them, my mom, Sara, and I set up a scavenger hunt for her. We took the gifts we had designated as her birthday presents (as opposed to her Christmas presents) and hid them throughout my mom's house, Sara's car, and the shed. We even went so far as to hide one in the bathroom, below the toilet seat cover! We wrote rhyming clues on winter stationary, so Ann would have to search for the presents. When Ann arrived on Christmas Day, we went right into the hunt. It was so much fun to see how excited she was about the game and the gifts. She ended up with some good loot, too! She got Batman Legos, several gift cards, shoes, and a hooded sweatshirt. I must say the best part was definitely when she looked in the toilet for a gift! Instead of cake, Ann asked my mom to make her a birthday pecan pie. It was cute seeing the candles coming out of the pie while we sang. I really hope that Ann enjoyed it as much as the rest of us did!

A Family Christmas

I hope that everyone had as wonderful of a Christmas as I did! My sister and Ann came into town to celebrate with my mom and me. We had a blast! We started out going to see Christmas lights around Great Bridge and Kempsville. Some people are so creative in their displays, especially Allen (who gives the Griswolds a run for their money) and Preston. We even went to see the house of one of my students. Their display is amazing, with the lights set to several Christmas songs. On Christmas Eve, we each got to open one present. My mom and I each got a calendar that my sister made for us, which is awesome and filled with pictures from the last year. My sister got a clock from Pottery Barn. Thanks to Sampras, we all woke up early on Christmas Day. I was downstairs around 5:30, and my mom was already waiting. Sara wandered down a few minutes later, and we eventually emptied our stockings. Mine was filled with perfume, lottery tickets (I won a dollar), candy, and many other goodies. Later in the day, we ate a buffet-style meal of ham, baked hashbrowns, corn, broccoli, rolls, green slushy punch, and sparkling cider. It was delicious, but my mom's cooking always is! Eventually, Ann came over (from her parents' house), and we got to opening presents. We were all quite spoiled, as usual. I finally got a Tivo, so now I won't miss all the good shows when I'm out and about or fast asleep! Perhaps my funniest gift was a chair to sit in at kickball games. The back of it reads "Kickball Superstar." I love it, but I am a little worried about living up to the expectations it will surely bring! At the end of the day, I received more wonderful gifts than I could ever deserve or list on here. In fact, we all did. Even Sampras got in on the gift action, opening a big purple ball, treats, and other toys. It was a blast to see him try to get it all out of the box to play with. It was a day when I really realized how blessed we all truly are, not just because of the gifts, but also because of the time we got to spend together!

A Kickball Christmas

Last Friday, I was able to kick-off the weekend before Christmas with my second family, the Crazy Kickers. Preston and Karen were kind enough to invite the entire team over for a pre-Christmas celebration. It was great to see everyone. Since the kickball season ended in October, I haven't seen some of my teammates in a few months. We were all asked to bring a side dish/appetizer to go along with the ham provided by Dude and Ma. I brought Baked Hashbrowns (an Iowa recipe), which I thought tasted pretty good considering the fact that it was the first time I had ever made them (and the fact that I mess up everything I ever attempt in the kitchen). The food was all delicious! We also were asked to bring a $10 gift to use in a Yankee (Dirty Santa) gift swap. I am proud to say that the Best Buy gift card I provided was quite popular (the most stolen gift of the night). I was impressed by all of the creative gifts that people brought: games, lottery tickets, beer kegs, gift cards, cookie jars, etc. It was a lot of fun, but I must say that the best part was just talking to and spending time with friends. It was especially cool that Ben had come in from Florida, where he has been living since he got married in August. Also great was seeing Cattina, who is more than ready to welcome little Cali into the world any day now (so exciting)! It amazes me that all of us are soooo different but that we can get along so well. It may sound cliche, but I really do feel like we are family.

HELPING TO SPREAD THE CHRISTMAS CHEER

I know that it has been a few months since I have written, but I wanted to share with everyone the experience that I had yesterday. For the second year in a row, I volunteered as a shopper for the Salvation Army's Toy Depot. I did it last year as well, and I had a blast. Therefore, when the opportunity presented itself to do it again this year, I jumped on it. This year, I was joined by my mom (who went last year, too) and my co-worker's daughter, Shay. We got to the toy depot at about 8:15 and spent the next four hours helping parents pick out toys for their children to open on Christmas Day. When you see these parents light up at the thought of being able to make their children's Christmas Day special, it really makes you realize how lucky you are. It is also nice to see all of the toys, clothing, and food items that generous people and companies have donated throughout the year to help families in need. To begin with, a marine introduces you to your client, usually a very shy mother, but we worked with a few fathers, too. You walk with your client through the toy isle (donated through Toys for Tots), picking out 2-3 toys for each of their children. Then, at the end of the toy isle, you pick up a box from the Angel Tree donations found in malls. The hardest part of doing this work each year has been realizing that some of these boxes are empty because the children's names weren't chosen from the Angel Tree. Just to try to help, Mom and I went out last night and bought for two teen-aged boys off the tree at Greenbrier Mall. At least we know those two boxes will be filled when their parents get to the depot this week. After picking up the clothing boxes, you take your client to pick up a "mommy gift," which was a cake-shaped candle this year. Finally, you walk your client to the checkout area, where their toys and clothes are packed up by more marines and where they are presented with a box of food and a chicken. The parents leave with the biggest smiles on their faces, knowing that this year will be special for their kids on Christmas Day. Both years I have done this, I have left with so many great stories about shocked parents saying, "we get all of this?" or thanking you every time you place something new in their cart. The highlight of this year's experience was definitely the mother who told us that her kids hadn't had Christmas in four years. I can just imagine what her four kids are going to feel like when they see all those toys and clothes on Christmas. Words cannot describe what it is like to be at the toy depot seeing all of the parents and volunteers working together for others. It really reminds you of the real meaning of Christmas!

Halloween All Around!!!

Halloween is just a few days away now! Of course there is no way that I could forget this since the kids are so pumped up for candy and costumes that they are bouncing off the walls! Because they are soooo ready, I figured it was about time that I got my act together and got into the Halloween spirit! My decorations have been out for weeks, but I finally got around to carving my pumpkin today. May I just say that I think this is the best pumpkin I have ever carved on my own? Growing up, my parents always did a majority of the work, and we just made simple faces in the pumpkins. When the pumpkin carving kits came out, my sister usually did a majority of the work, and since she is pretty artistically gifted, the pumpkins were always cool. In fact, I would usually start my own pumpkin, mess it up, and rely on her to fix my mistakes! I especially liked the Statue of Liberty she carved into one of our pumpkins after 9/11. This year, the pressure was on because I was all alone in the pumpkin carving department. I used a kit, of course, because I am not skilled enough to carve without a pattern, but I am still proud of how it turned out. In addition to getting in the spirit at home, I also made sure that the two classrooms my students are based out of had the doors decorated for the holiday. The kids have loved looking at their bats on the doors for the past few weeks (because each of them have their name listed on one of the bats), and they have been very protective of the doors! You can't be overtly Halloween-ish in a school building, so that is why the doors read, "Beeware...we're batty about learning!" If you look closely, you'll notice the giant bee in between the doors has vampire bat fangs as well. We've received tons of compliments from other teachers and students, so the pressure is on to come up with something clever for Thanksgiving! The pictures can't really do it justice! My TA, Lynn, really outdid herself! Happy Halloween everyone!!!

Last Weekend

Last weekend was such a great weekend that I figured all of you would want to hear about it! My cousin flew in from Massachusetts, and my Aunt Sara flew in from Iowa. My mom and I had not seen either of them since my Grandpa Harry died two years ago. It was soooo much fun to see them under happier circumstances. Every time we get together, it amazes me how we pick up right where we left off. It is never awkward like it can be with other people I haven't seen in ages! We spent the entire weekend catching up, talking about old times, laughing at each other, and simply enjoying each other's company! We spent Friday night (after they both got here) at my mom's house wearing matching pajamas my mom had bought us for the occasion. I think we could have talked all night without running out of things to say, but I had to come home so that Sampras could eat and powder his nose. We all got up early on Saturday and went to some antique stores (not my favorite but the other three collect them). We then took the ferry to Williamsburg from Smithfield Station, went shopping at the pottery and the outlets, and ended up at Macy's. It was a long day but tons of fun. On Sunday, we got up early again and went to church. Lindsay, my cousin, said she saw more young people walking into church that morning than she has seen in over two years at her house, so I am working on convincing her to move here. After church, we had hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill and headed to Home-a-Rama. While it was very interesting seeing all of the gynormous million dollar houses, I think they made all of us appreciate our cozy houses even more. Sadly, Sunday night saw the end of Lindsay's and Sara's visits. I had to go back to work on Monday, and they both had to fly home. Still, we have plans to get together each Columbus Day from now on. Plus, there is a good chance that Lindsay is going to come here for Thanksgiving this year. I'll just enjoy the pictures we took in the meantime! Nothing beats family!!!