Proud Mom Survey

I totally stole this from Mary...I hope you don't mind!!

Proud Mom Survey

1. Names? James Michael, Nathaniel Guy, Thomas William, Abigail Helen Rose
2. Birthdays? April 12, 1992, June 7, 1995, June 17 1998, February 15, 2004
3. Time of birth? 8:07 PM, 11:36 PM, 12:43 AM, 10:46 PM
4. How long did labor last? 17 hours, 12 hours, 2 hours, 4 hours
5. Who was in the room? with Jamie: My Mom, sister Brenda, and 2 other unmentionables. with Nate: Billy, with Tommy: Billy and Brenda, with Abby: Billy
6. How long did you push? Jamie: 4 hours, Nate: 20 minutes, Tommy: 5 minutes, Abby: one big push!
7. Weights? Jamie: 9 lbs. 4 oz, Nate: 8 lbs 2 oz., Tommy: 8 lbs 14 oz., Abby: 7 lbs 13 oz
8. Any hair? Not much for the boys but Abby was hairy like a monkey!
9. Who does your baby look like? Jamie: my dad, Nate: me, Tommy: a clone of Billy and Abby looks like both of us.
10. Be honest...how much weight did you gain while pregnant? Jamie: 60 pounds, Nate: 30 pounds, Tommy: zero and Abby: zero
11. Was baby early or late? 2 days late with Jamie, 4 days early with Nate, on my due date with Tommy and 8 days early with Abby (the last 2 were self-induced......casteroil method)
12. Who drove you home from the hospital? Mom, Billy, Billy, Billy
13. How many baby showers did you have? 4
14. Did you breastfeed? no
15. Who keeps your baby the most? me of course
16. When do you wanna have another? I'd love one more (but I am getting too old....)
17. How did you pick the name? All the first names we chose were because we liked them. The middle names went like this...Jamie: Michael for me, Nate: Guy for Billy's best friend and Nate's godfather, Tommy: William for Billy, Abby: Helen for Billy's mom and Rose for my mom and grandmother.
18. How did you know it was time to go the hospital? With Jamie I thought my water broke (it didn't)...they kept me anyway because I was in labor, with Nate the contractions were so painful I couldn't breathe, with Tommy they had me come in right away because I induced my labor (with permission from my midwife) and it was a good thing because my labor lasted only 2 hours! With Abby they had me come in right away partly because with Tommy my labor was so short...they thought I would end up having her at home.
19. Anyone spend the first night with you at the hospital? Nope
20. Did you cry the first time you held your baby? No, for various reasons. Jamie...I was emotionally drained from 4 hours of pushing, with Nate I just didn't, with Tommy I was "under the influence" of some wacky stuff and was delirious and with Abby I was so relieved (it hurt so bad) I could only cheer!
21. Who cut the cord? Bren, Doctor, Bren, Midwife
22. Where was the baby born? the first 2 at Beth Israel Deaconess, the second 2 at South Shore Hospital
23. Did you record the labor? Pictures, nothing, pictures, nothing

Sunshine on a cloudy day

This morning when Abby woke up she tiptoed out into the living room (where the rest of us were, already awake). She always enters the room and waits in the doorway for me to say it.... Today was no different....she waited until I said, "Hey Sunshine, good morning!!! Did you have a nice sleep?". And then she ran to into my arms for some morning snuggles and kisses.

Lately I have been calling her Sunshine and since I have a habit (I won't say a BAD habit...) of nicknaming my kids, I have been calling her "Sunshine on a cloudy day". Silly, of course. This morning when I called her "Sunshine" she looked right at me and said, "It's Sunshine on a cloudy day..". Um, OK, now she wants to be called Sunshine on a Cloudy Day..I am OK with that. Thank goodness I wasn't calling her Breathe of Fresh Air or Sight for Sore Eyes....that would be way to silly.

Challenger Crossword puzzles are sooooo easy!!!

Well, it's no secret, my kids are smart. Abby is the smartest! Can you believe, that at 4 years old, she can complete a Challenger Crossword Puzzle? The proof is in the pictures!





Cute huh? I love crossword puzzles. Sometimes I indulge myself and purchase a Dell Crossword Magazine. I should buy them more often, especially now that the kids are getting older and able to complete the "Easy" ones with a little help from mom and dad. Abby was smitten with the little squares (her art has been very geometric and squiggly lately...I should photograph some of her pictures...very abstract).

She's such a ham!

My little Abby, she sure does love to pose for the camera!

10 Favorite Movie Characters

This is doing to be easy...I love movies!!

1. Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks) (of course!!), "Forrest Gump"



2. Raymond Babbitt (Dustin Hoffman), "Rain Man"



3. Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding and Andy Dufresne (Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins), "The Shawshank Redemption"



4. Happy Gilmore (Adam Sandler......a guilty pleasure), "Happy Gilmore"



5. Sybil Dorsett (Sally Field), "Sybil"



6. Jack Dawson and Rose DeWitt Bukater (Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet), "Titanic"



7. Lt. Daniel Kaffee and Col. Nathan R. Jessep (Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson), "A Few Good Men"



8. Farmer Ted, "The Geek" (Anthony Michael Hall), "16 Candles"



9. Andie Walsh and Phil Dale, aka Duckie (Molly Ringwald and Jon Cryer), "Pretty In Pink"



10. Ren McCormack (Kevin Bacon), "Footloose"

That's just 10, since this is "10 on Tuesday"....but I could go on and on and on and on.

Monday, Music, Michelle, MP3 player

I love Mondays....I love the letter 'M' too. Is it weird I have a favorite letter? My favorite number, if you care, is 3 (or $1,000,000.....especially with the $$$$$ in front!!).

I love the color orange, cauliflower and Neil Diamond. I love my kids. I love the summer weather. I love the smell of sunscreen (smells so "safe"). I love UPS, a good deal and Kohl's.

I love my family and friends. I love my truck, my home and hometown. I love, love, love.....love.

Here's what I am listening to today...

1. Honky Tonk Women, The Rolling Stones
2. Stray Cat Strut, Stray Cats
3. Da Ya Think I'm Sexy, Rod Stewart
4. You've Got a Friend, James Taylor
5. Your Mama Don't Dance, Loggins & Messina
6. Sweet Home Alabama, Lynyrd Skynyrd
7. Night Fever, The BeeGees
8. Me and Julio Down the School Yard, Simon & Garfunkel
9. Dancing With Myself, Billy Idol
10. I melt With You, Modern English

My MP3 player is a great source of entertainment for me lately. You never know what's next (well, you can cheat...but I don't). I'd love to get more Rascal Flatts on there and more Brian Setzer.

Hope you're enjoying your Monday, I know I am!!

Ten on Tuesday a day late

10 Favorite Sports to Play/Watch

First, I don't play sports. Not since I was in 8th grade at least. So my list will be 10 sports I like to watch.

1. Baseball, specifically the Boston Redsox .
2. Football, Go Pats!
3. Soccer
4. Rockland Little League Baseball
5. Rockland Youth Football
6. Gymnastics
7. Curling
8. Crab Fishing
9. ????
10. ????

I know, only 8...jeesh. And you would think that living here in Massachusetts I would have put Hockey and Basketball on my list but honestly......I'd rather watch paint dry. My favorites up there from my list? My boys teams of course!! Rockland has some great sports organizations and we are happy to be a part of them.

MP3 player

Some people have said I have weird taste in music...... I listen to a lot of different music, mostly older stuff and stuff that doesn't "fit me" (Nelly.....Justin Timberlake....Loverboy..... Too Short (FYI, not for young ears...very explicit lyrics)....etc.). Here's a sample of what I have on my MP3 player....the last 20 songs I have listened to:

1. Harden My Heart by Quarterflash
2. Freeze Frame by the J. Geils Band
3. The Chain by Fleetwood Mac
4. Cecilia by Simon and Garfunkel
5. SexyBack by Justin Timberlake, featuring Timbaland
6. Cherry, Cherry by Neil Diamond (the best ever)
7. Poison by Bell Biv DeVoe
8. Let's Live it up by the Brian Setzer Orchestra
9. Jam On It by Newcleus
10. Rich Girl by Hall and Oates
11. Stray Cat Strut by the Stray Cats (Brian Setzer)
12. Rapper's Delight by The Sugar Hill Gang
13. The Stroke by Billy Squier
14. Heartbreak Hotel by Elvis Presley
15. She's a lady by Tom Jones
16. P.Y.T. by Michael Jackson
17. Return to Sender by Elvis Presley
18. Country Grammar by Nelly
19. Desiree by the one and only Neil Diamond
20. She's Gone by Hall and Oates

I have 189 songs on my MP3 player (I have a ways to go before it's full....it's 4 gigs). Of all those songs (and besides my all time love of Neil Diamond) the song I most enjoyed listening to tonight was "Stray Cat Strut". It brought back fond memories. When that song was popular way back when I loved it so much that I insisted that my dad buy me the album (yes, album) and a t-shirt with the Stray Cats on it for Christmas. One of those baseball shirts with the white body and colored three quarter length sleeves. I had purple sleeves....and he got me a pair of jeans to go with it.