This is my good friend Celeste. She moved out of state a few years ago (can’t believe it’s been that long already) not long after her husband passed away and is home visiting this weekend. She is one of my "playgroup girls"- we met at Gymboree when the oldest kids were 3 months old and have kept having playgroup and such since then. Now, it’s mostly the mommies who get together because school and afterschool stuff gets in the way of playgroups. Anyway, back to the point of the post…

Celeste lost her husband to cancer a few years ago. He was a great, great guy. A fabulous husband and father. And it was such a waste. So very sad. Celeste had a very, very difficult time for a long while after his passing, but man, that girl pulled it together like no one’s business. She moved to Georgia with her two young girls, bought a house, got a job, learned how to run a household, made a whole life down there….and with NO HELP from anyone. She had no family in that area. She just picked up and went. And now she is thriving! She looks fantastic and is really, truly happy. It’s such a wonderful thing to see. She has come so very far. So brave! Maureen got her a little statue that said "courage". And that my friend is the absolute truth!

She put together a little celebration of David’s life with his family and friends tonight (the anniversary of his passing). And it wasn’t sad or morbid. It’s for everyone to share their best David stories and remember the impact he had on their lives. I got to go to dinner with her and Maureen and then hung out at the party for just a little bit. So unfortuately I didn’t get to see a lot of the people who were going to be coming, but I did get to see some of her family- which is always nice!      

For the first time in over a week, I was in the house all by myself. The big boys were at school, Timmy was at his school, and John went to work. Ahhhhhhhh. Silence. How I’ve missed you! It was really so nice although very brief. I didn’t even turn on the TV or put on any music. It was nice while it lasted. Then Miriam our cleaning lady came, and soon after that I had to pick Timmy up at school.  Here’s me in a self portrait, enjoying the quiet. Yes, I know I have to get my roots done. Bad. But who has time to sit there for 3 hours? My appointment is next weekend. That’s the earliest I could get.

The boys had a playdate afterschool today with their pal Ryan. Ryan is an incredible athlete and such a nice kid. I think they had fun although my boys were a little upset that it took both of them to tackle Ryan. He’s a big boy!

Timmy is really getting the whole tricycle thing! See, this is where I am so surprised about the low muscle tone thing. He can totally do it- where it took the big boys significantly longer to get the whole tricycle riding down. Still at a loss to figure out what he can and can’t do- it’s so strange. Grandma & Grandpa also bought him his first scooter for his birthday. He’s slowly getting that too. I am hoping by the fall he can do it enough so we can ride up to school to pick up the boys. I dunno, it’s a pretty long ride…I guess we’ll see.

My good friend Sharon had her baby boy today!! You’ll be seeing plenty of pictures of him soon. We have a shoot scheduled for late next week. Plus the fact that I have so many baby ideas floating around in my head that this poor kid is going to be photographed to death.  I’m going to the hospital tommorrow night to visit, but I wouldn’t count on any good pictures. They lock the babies up in the nursery during visitng hours so I’m going to be photographing him from a good distance behind glass and probably several people deep of baby admirers.

And in one last piece of exciting news- Timmy has been doing great on the potty training and has been dry all the time (he even woke up the next morning all dry which hadn’t happened before). And today– a huge milestone. Poop on the potty. I promised him a toy at Target when he did it, so off we went to Target this afternoon for a new toy. Bribes might just be the breaking point with this kid. I told him if he goes again, we can go back to Target. I might be bankrupt, but he’ll be potty trained and soon. I hope.

John got the go-ahead from his surgeon today and he’s going back to work tommorrow. Yippppeeeeee! I think we are both very, very happy about that. Very. He’s also allowed to drive again. The doctor took out the staples today and the incision is healing up nicely (it looks bad still, but healing well). Still only very short days at work, no trials, no bending, lifting, or twisting. But it’s progress. Here’s how it’s looking today without staples (warning: still way gross- but very colorful!)

John had a very big day today- going out for the whole morning. A haircut, a haircut for me, a visit to the doctor, a trip to the pharmacy (all by himself!) for some Darvocet. Vicodin, Percoset, Darvocet…take your pick. We got em all. I think he’s all kinds of worn out. I spent part of the night scrubbing off all the adhesive residue on his back from the bandages. yeah, that was fun.

So with John heading to work for a while in the morning, Jack, Patrick & Timmy going to school I will have the whole house to myself for the first time in over a week. I am going to just sit and listen to the quiet. For 15 minutes anyway. Then there is lots of stuff to do, as always. But I can’t wait. Sad, that I’m so excited about that, huh?

Did you hear about Patrick Swayze? He has pancreatic cancer. I don’t know why, but this news is making me very sad. I guess cause I grew up with his movies and I always liked him. Ya know…"no one puts baby in the corner". I hope he makes it.

I think I need to mention that I don’t really care for the age of 8. The mouths on them sometimes are just unbeliveable. And not in a good way. In the way you just want to bang their heads together. You know what I’m talking about. And I think they must be bi-polar. All lovey and happy and good and then the next second…eyerolling, attitude filled, know everything, fresh mouthed, tvinduceddeafness, scutches! I think they need to be outside. Maybe permanently. 

Looks like Timmy (almost) officially has low muscle tone. He failed his OT evaluation miserably and now has a PT evaluation next weekend. I still don’t know exactly how he did on the speech part (the therapist said he was borderline). It’s gonna be a while until we have definite results and move on to the CPSE meeting. But he is still as super cute and lovey and smart as always! My oldest friend Ivy came by for dinner tonight (thanks, I) and asked if she could keep him. Sorry, but him I can’t do without. What other 3 year old says "i love you sooooo much mommy" out of nowhere? I could just sqeeeeeeze him til he pops! We stopped by my favorite staircase/alleyway while running to the deli yesterday afternoon. He wasn’t in a good mood at all until I started calling him "timmyboo cranky pants". Then it was funny. For a while anyway.  

Took the boys and the camera out today for a little practice. Playing with some new settings on the camera, as well as some new stuff in photoshop. And there wasn’t even any complaining! That never happens. I think they took some pity on me cause it hasn’t been pretty around here and they know I am a mommy on the edge of a breakdown! Tried some shots with some texture again. What do you think? It’s supposed to look kinda old fashioned. Not sure if it’s working though. They do remind me of that show "Carnivale". I miss that show- I really loved it. And I’m still waiting for some closure since they left off right in the middle of the thing.  

The boys are getting so big. It’s really crazy how fast it’s happening. Soccer season starts soon along with baseball. We’re gonna be very busy. Jack has decided to drop the cello- he’s honestly not enjoying it at all. We discussed it and while I don’t want him to be a quitter, it’s just not the right match for him. So no more cello (which is really okay with me cause lugging that thing is just a big ol pain in the ass since I end up carrying it- along with Timmy- most days on the way home from school). Other than that, they are doing fantastic. Math State testing this week so lots of pressure, but they have been getting in the 90’s on their math tests, so they should be okay.I just have to make sure to get my butt out of bed early for the next few days.   

The patient is behaving himself (for the most part) and I think he is really done with the whole recovery thing. God knows I am. I have discovered a newfound respect for all the single mommies out there. Doing everything is hard hard work. I’m exhausted. Now if he would just STOP ASKING if he’s being a good patient every 15 minutes… Maybe he needs a sticker chart. At least I no longer have to be nurse nancy as the bandages are off now. Follow up visit with the doctor on Wednesday– hopefully he will get clearance to go back to work. Please.

A thank you to everyone who has called, come by, dropped off gifts, gift cards, food, etc. You guys all rock!. My friend Jen had perfect timing earlier this week and got me a gift certificate to my favorite sushi place (that was for giving her the crib and firehouse for her kids). Yum. If I could have sushi every night, I think I really would.

Ok, so after the ugly posts with staples and bruises and hospitals, I have something oh so pretty to share today (yeah, I can hear you saying "thank god, no more gore"). Here are some pictures of the ever beautiful Miss G. I had previously shot her Christening, but mom wanted another quick session for some possible thank you cards and some portraits for framing. Hope I got those. She is a super photogenic baby (even with some spit bubbles- so cute!) and was so good. By the end I think we had exhausted her, as her little eyes were just about rolling back in her head she was soooo tired. Just loved the gown and the bonnet. Classic beauty.