Prepare to be jealous, Auntie Beth!

When KK came home last week she brought Molly some tulips. Molly immediately put them in her room in a vase and has been admiring them ever since!

My beautiful goddaughter, Abby was born on April 29th so as one of her birthday presents Molly and I took Abby out for a "Girl's Day". We had a blast - as you can see!

Molly and her tulips!
Molly and Abby in their crowns and ready for a "Girl's Day"
Chocolate chip pancakes and bacon for Abby - a perfect birthday breakfast!
Uncle B, Auntie Meg and KK joined us for breakfast at the diner. Kk brought the girls necklaces - Molly's is half a heart that says "Best" and Abby's is the other half of the heart that says "Friends" - too cute!
Molly getting her pedicure!
Molly getting flowers painted on her piggies!
Abby getting her nails painted!
Molly drying her hands and piggies!
Abby getting her piggies painted!
The girls LOVED getting the royal treatment at the spa!

And how could we not stop for ice cream after we were all dry!
The girls showing off their mani's and pedi's to Papa!
Popsicles at Grammy and Papa's house!
Grammy and the girls!
A peek at the piggies!


Tyler swinging in the backyard.
Pete hanging out in the backyard!
Julia swinging in the backyard.
The girls playing dolls out in the yard while we waited for pizza!
The birthday girl!

I had to take this picture of Molly and Annie because Ann is wearing Molly's favorite pajamas from when she was little.
Sleeping like little angels!
Molly - girl looking adorable even when she sleeps!
Annie all swaddled up in Grammy's blankies!
My big boy - tired out after baseball!

We had a great day - Molly and Abby had a blast together and showed their nails off to anyone who would look. They talked and chatted like two little old ladies all day. Unfortunately while we were waiting for pizza to come Tyler started feeling kind of yucky and had a fever of 100.9 and Abby threw up a few minutes later! Both of them ended up going home to hang with Mom and Dad and hopefully feel better before their big party tomorrow. Julia, Molly and Peter went to bed dirty, happy and tired and fell asleep within a few minutes!

One cute Molly story. As most of you know my pregnancies are rarely without some drama and so my kids have seen some strange things - me pulling over on the side of the road to throw up, dragging them into bathrooms at every store in town to throw up and me tossing (literally) Annie into Bob's arms and running to the bathroom to throw up - see the pattern. So I took Molly and Abby for ice cream after their mani pedi's and decided that since it was a good day in the stomach department I would get a small dish of ice cream. The man scooped it and just as he was passing it over the counter to me Molly yelled out "Mommy, don't eat that - there's no bathroom in here." She then looked up at the nice man behind the counter with the puzzled look on his face and said "My mom is having a baby and she throws up EVERY time she eats!" He laughed but I'm pretty sure he was relieved when we took our ice cream to go and went to Grammy and Papa's house. Turned out Molly was right - there was no bathroom and that is a chance that I can't afford to take right now!

Our First Backyard Picnic of the Year!

First of all - thanks to my family for their support of my work with people with HIV - I wish it was as noble as you make it sound.

I was too exhausted to blog last night and to be honest I'm quite sure that after the day I've had I probably won't make it to see Grey's Anatomy at 9 tonight either.

I did a Chinese gender prediction test today and it came out that I was having a girl again - someone had better find us a good name for her if that's true. Since all of the other kids are named after someone special we really need a family name - not too outlandish - that isn't too long since the last name is Harding - Wheeler. We have had our boys name since the day we decided to try to have a baby 3 years ago so we are set on that - one more reason that the baby is probably a girl! The kids already refer to the baby as Macky (if it's a boy his name will be Mack Patrick for those who don't know!)- Molly and Peter are counting on a boy!

Last night KK invited us to a picnic at our house. She brought hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, watermelon and baked beans! The kids had a blast and Kk and Meg helped Molly plant some veggies and flowers out back while Papa played with Annie. Uncle B and Uncle Scott even came over after work - such fun when you can stay outside until 8 p.m and its still light out!

KK and Meg helping the girls plant some flowers and veggies in the backyard - Molly loved it!
My little beauty out in the backyard - helping to plant?
Molly - Girl loved planting in the backyard - she was all business in her cute little skirt with dirt up and down her legs and on her face!
Annie didn't want to give up her potting planter - it tasted good!
Papa came over for dinner, too - Annie loves her Papa time!
The first watermelon of the season - the kids had four pieces each! Peter was so excited all through dinner - he asked for dessert ten times!
Annie's first taste of watermelon - she could not get enough and grunted if Papa took it away from her! When Peter was Annie's age he used to get excited just to see watermelon in the grocery store!
My beautiful girl eating her watermelon - I have to say - just seeing Molly with some color on her face and her smile back is a relief - she had us very worried last week. The pediatrician called to check in today and see how she was doing - I thought that was very sweet!
Annie Bananie concentrating very hard on getting her watermelon off the rind! Molly was grossed out because she ate the green part!
Uncle B and Annie - she ADORES Uncle B - puts her arms out to him, laughs when he dances for her and is just generally happy when he is around. And if I might be so bold - Annie has Uncle B wrapped around her little finger at an earlier age than even Molly did! (although Molly is always the first one to run out the door and greet Uncle B when he gets here!) I think he is getting soft with age - he won't stand a chance with the new baby!

So a beautiful night thanks to KK's generosity and aunts and uncles willing to spend the night playing baseball, breaking up fights and wiping up baby spit - and a nice dose of Papa - always a great way to end the day! My children are very blessed!

My Own Little Sermon on HIV!

I don't normally talk about my job - not because I don't LOVE it and appreciate the unique and wonderful opportunities I have within it but because, frankly, not many people want to hear about it! For those who don't know what I do - I am the Director of HIV Services for Community Health Center. I administer grants through the Ryan White Treatment Modernization Act that provide medical, dental, HIV specific and behavioral health care to people with HIV/AIDS. I also run a drop in center in Middletown for people with HIV where they can receive support services like case management to remain as stable as possible.

Yesterday at the Capital staff and clients of the health center participated in AIDS Awareness Day - a day of awareness for the HIV community to let legislators and the public know how far we have come and how much farther we have to go. The reason I thought this might interest my blog fans is because HIV has become known as a chronic disease - a disease that does not kill but is an inconvenience. While it is true that HIV is highly treatable and medications are successfully helping people to remain medically stable and live longer - HIV is not curable and it does kill. And right now the highest rate of new infections are in children and adolescents age 13-25. Yes, you read that correctly. CHILDREN ages 13-25 are being diagnosed with HIV even though through state laws for HIV testing of pre-partum mothers we have virtually wiped out infection of children peri-natally(passed from mother to child through pregnancy and birth). All of these new HIV cases are being contracted through risky sexual behavior or drug use! There is a bill on the floor right now that would award public schools thousands of dollars in grants for disseminating age appropriate, medically based HIV and sex education information. A scary thought but not half as scary as the alternatives!

These are just a few pictures from the Capital yesterday - clients and community members hoping to make a difference in the fight to protect people from HIV/AIDS and to secure services for those already infected. It's not a fun subject but it is an important one. It is estimated that there are 19,000 people living in CT with HIV/AIDS but that only 11,000 are actually diagnosed. Most are not aware of their status and therefore are more likely to spread it. If nothing else say a prayer that we find some relevant way to educate our teens on how to stay safe before this becomes a crisis situation. Not ONE more person needs to become infected with HIV - it is a preventable disease!

Thanks for listening - pictures of the kids to follow later tonight!

School Picture Day!

One of my favorite days of the school year has got to be school picture day! After last year I had low expectations - there is usually little adult supervision for pictures so there is always hair out of place, smudges on cheeks and weird smiles that are totally foreign to my kids on a daily basis. This year is an exception - they certainly aren't going to be on the cover of a magazine but they both look adorable- and like themsleves. And for all of you who are curious about the wondeful teachers that the kids get to be with on a daily basis - see the class pictures below.

Molly - Spring 2008
Peter - Spring 2008
Peter's class - you can find the teachers yourself but if you're curious about the kids that he is friends with I'll give you a few highlights.

1st row 2nd from left - Carlos (my favorite)

1st row 1st from left - Victoria

Middle row - 3rd from left - Trinity - he talks about her All THE TIME!

A few highlights from Molly's class

1st row all the way on the right - Mila (pronounced Mee-la and my favorite)

1st row 2nd from right - Alana

top row 2nd from left - Anesza

Short blog tonight - we have homework to do and baths to give. Hope everyone enjoys the pictures!

Happiness is having a nun-aunt!

You just have to love nuns. Those of you who are not related to or affiliated with nuns may not realize the special treat it is to have an aunt for a nun. Like today when I walked into her house to pick up some stuff for Oasis. Auntie Ann, Sister Ancie and Sister Anne were looking through wedding pictures from last month and when I asked what they were doing the response was "Looking for a picture for our obituary." Well, naturally they were - what else do you do on a random Monday afternoon, right? Auntie Ann isn't sick - just prepared - as all nuns are for the worst - or as they probably think of it - the BEST! That's just one of the things that makes Auntie Ann and her posse special. The others are too numerous to list but who can replace memories of hide and seek in the convent, having every priest in the diocese know you by name and "bible school" created just for us with text books, Jesus Loves You stickers and only your cousins as classmates. Auntie Ann in recent years has started calling weekly for updates on the kids, taking a special kid to lunch every once in a while and she is the personal cheerleader of her neices and nephews and her grand neices and nephews, the bestower of crafts and books and anything educational - although Bob's personal favorite (and secretly Karla's too) is the Little Debbie snack cakes of different varieties. Auntie Ann loves us each equally and is often the moderator of disputes (who can argue with someone that close to God) - Well, let me clarify, she loves us all equally - with a little extra for her godchild, KK - don't deny it, KK, you love it and you know it! So anyways - having Auntie Ann for an aunt is a blessing and a gift - she is kind, generous, loving and best of all, she has a sense of humor!

The dreaded bug has hit my baby girl - look at the snot and boogers dripping down the poor kids face. I would like to say she is a trooper but she didn't sleep more than an hour total last night thanks to a bad cough and a sore throat. She broke our hearts and since it is my blog and I can be dorky - I had a moment of total love for my husband last night as I looked over and saw him trying so hard to comfort Annie just totally oblivious to the fact that it was 4 am and we had not slept more than an hour. He prayed over her, sang to her, talked to her, wiped her nose and sat patiently through the wailing without a thought to his 18 hour day today. (He has school until 11). He then hopped up at 6 to feed Annie and get the kids up so I could get another half hour of sleep.
So sick and feeling miserable and her mother is busy taking pictures instead of wiping the stuff off her mouth and face.
Mommy even made her pose for a picture with the other kids. Molly is finally recovering and going to school tomorrow - she can not wait to see Mrs. Nelson. One of her major concerns about being sick over vacation is that Mrs. Nelson would have no idea that she was sick. I assured her that Mrs. Nelson knows everything! So we just have to get Annie on the mend and we are back in business. KK is giving up her Thursday and Friday of vacation to take care of Annie for us while her babysitter, Carrie, goes on a cruise. How awesome is KK? So awesome that she will pretend that she has nothing she would rather be doing and will dote on Annie, the big kids and their mom - who still requires some KK time just like the rest of the kids!

Spring

The kids gave Annie one of their cereal straws - she loved all 300 grams of sugar in it!


One of my all time favorite gifts was given to me last Mother's Day. My pregnancy was becoming increasingly hard with many baby scares and a few serious health crisis. It seemed like everything that could go wrong would and everything I did was inadequate and led to more problems. On Mother's Day we went to the beach house and when we returned there was a beautiful pear blossom tree on our front porch. The note was from my kind and generous sister-in-law, Karla. It said that although this was technically a gift from my goddaughter, Abaigeal Karla was picturing a day a few years off when we might be taking pictures of her goddaughter (Annie - who was in my belly at the time) in front of it on her 1st Communion Day. I sat on the front steps and sobbed. It took us a few weeks to figure out where to put it and then it seemed like it was not doing well - it never blossomed and looked very droopy. I was so nervous that I had killed my tree! But today - at the end of a long week of sickness it blossomed with beautiful white blossoms. It is beautiful and perfect - reminding me of the renewal that come with spring. It is also a constant reminder of the love I feel whenever I am around my goddaughter and the happiness she has brought and continues to bring me each and everyday. Abby is a blessing in my life and I treasure her..............................and my tree!
I was very excited when I saw all of the blossoms on the tree and the kids asked why I was taking so many pictures of a tree. I don't know why - today it made me feel good and special to see my tree thriving and I wanted to take some pictures.
I also ventured out of the sick house for a while to go over and see Katie and Karla. In the life of a baby alot can happen in a week so I had no intention of letting that long go by without seeing my neice. She was a bit cranky at first but she and I had a chat and she eventually drifted off in my arms with a sweet smile on her face! She is perfect! PS - I didn't being my camera so this is a stolen picture from Karla - look at that gorgeous smile!