Catching up....

Once again, I have not kept up my end of the bargain and posted regularly! I'll be honest...some days I can't remember that I need to get milk...speaking of which there is a milk jug in the fridge with about a swig left in it. I would say...I forgot to get milk tonight. So, how could I remember to keep my blog going? Well, I don't really...I have to be reminded by my followers that they need some updates from time to time.

Let's Catch Up...

Where should I begin? How about with the main attraction...Zach of course. Well he is now pushing 5 months old. That will happen on 9/4/09 of course. He's turning out to be quite an amazing little creature. He is now rolling over...ALL over that is, and trying like crazy to figure out how to crawl. He's got the knees up idea down but can't quite figure out how to get his arms up. He has a great big belly laugh now and if you get him going to much he actually snorts!! Yeah...like a little piggy. Of course he is cute as ever, although I do feel that I am partial. He isn't eating anything but milk these days, and those pesky teeth still haven't broken through the gum...but they are surely on the way. Last visit to the doctors little Z was 14lbs and 25.5 inches long!! That is quite the change in size from our pint sized 6lb newborn!! I've already forgotten how tiny he was...that is until I see another newborn. Every time he does something new I cry and naturally have to go look at all the pictures from the day he was born. I am really already playing the "remember when" game? Oh, how motherhood changes a woman!!

Elsewhere in the Simpson Universe we just celebrated LD's 17th birthday! 17 - how the heck does that happen? School starts tomorrow!! Junior year. A short rainy summer. A few days in the pool. Now, what I am sure to him seems like an inevitably long school year ahead! If anyone is interested in LD's stats...at his last Dr. appointment he was 5' 8" tall!! He has grown more than 8 inches in 2 years! He hasn't given up the long hair just yet...he might be entertaining the idea. But for now it is the shaggy curly look that he still has going. Here's to a quick and painless Junior year...with out summer school in 2010! Wish us all luck there!!

What else? Well the only other big news is that I will be starting a new job after Labor Day! WOOO HOOO!! Yes after 11 years wi th my company I am leaving. Beginning a new journey. Hopefully to great places. A bit odd, but will be going to a hotel that I used to manage, that my current company sold a few years back. I will be going full circle...almost back to were it all began! Yup...so that leaves the Beetles song as my theme song for the next few weeks. I'm excited and nervous! Mostly excited. Ready for a new adventure!! As per the usually I never spend too long in one hotel. I like to keep things mixed up. Courtyard...here I come...get read y!!

That's the gist of it. Seems as though I should have even more to say given the time between updates. I'm sure there have been several I Love Lucy moments around here that I will have to save for posts of their own. Dave is still grinding concrete everyday...and living on the road....out of a travel bag...and in a hotel room. (Ugh) We never did take a summer vacation or go camping this year. Big BUMMER! But we did have some great parties at home this summer...and of course one more big one to end the summer season is fast approaching.

Here are some new pics! I'll post again soon...you know how soon my soon is these days! As soon as I have a gallon of milk in the fridge with more than a swig left in it...we'll be catching up!Zach's 1st Balloon Rally

Pool Days!!!

Watching Fire Works with Mommy

Chilling on the deck with Daddy

A look back....add on for Grammy post.

Thanks Janie for finding this picture of Jay Jay and me with Grammy! I think this is when we made Grammy her birthday cake in my Easy Bake Oven! How cute!

Grammy...THE GREAT ONE!

I wanted to dedicate this page to my Gram! I don't have any spectacular story to share, just a few words and memories for her.

I don't make it to see you nearly enough and I always wish that Zach and I could be there more. This picture of the two of you on the Fourth of July is great! He just sat and hung out with you with out a care in the world. I know you always look forward to seeing him. It makes me so happy to see how you look at him. I'm glad I FINALLY had a baby and you can enjoy him too.

I think about all the time that Jay Jay and I used to spend with you when we were young. We had so much fun. Remember the Ice Capades in Connecticut with Blanche and Bob? I will never forget playing with that old fashioned shoe shine machine Bob had in their house! We thought that was the funniest thing. How about our trip to California to see Freida? Janie came to and we went everywhere! Disney & Knotts Berry Farm and Sea World! And that crazy cheap motel we stayed in with mirrors on the ceiling! Jay Jay and I thought that was pretty cool...but I can only imagine what the grown ups were thinking!! I know what I think now! I can remember coming to your house to have a sleep over and watch the Wizard of Oz - back in the days that it aired only once a year! Do you remember when Big Jay took Jay Jay and me out on the boat and we went swimming and he lost his keys in the lake? You had to come and get us - or bring us keys. There are so many little things like that - that I remember! Jay Jay and I were with you so much - and you have given us so many memories to hold for a lifetime. I just want you to know how much that all meant to me and that I still remember and am grateful for the time! Above all I am grateful for the time that you get to spend with Zach and the pictures that will last a lifetime! I was hoping that I had a picture loaded on my computer of you with me when I was little - but I don't at the moment. I will track some down and scan them in so we will have them for another day! I will be able to tell him all my memories of you when he is grown up! Thank you - we love you!!

3 Months....

I've been looking at my sweet baby, and wondering where the last 3 month - or should I say 14 weeks has slipped away to. 6 lbs 6 oz to 13 + lbs, a newborn to an infant, a baby cry to a scream...to a laugh! Every moment so precious...that words can not even express the feeling...so I leave you with only photos....

I Love Lucy...

My step-father often refers to living with my Mother being like an I Love Lucy episode. Actually, we have plenty of episodes to air a entire season I'm sure! There are lots of events that have earned her this title. One of my favorites in particular is her lawn mower fire story.

One afternoon she was joyously mowing the lawn (at her old house - not here in Bedford). Some how the lawn mower went up in flames - or the build up of grass under the mower caught on fire. So Lucy did what Lucy would do and ran into the house to locate something to extinguish the fire. I will interject and let you all know that this house and yard was abutted against several other neighbors and a fairly busy road. So, none of this would have gone unnoticed. Once arriving inside the house, she ran through three rooms, past three (yes three) fire extinguishers. Alas, she had found what she needed - a hand made afghan from the couch. Yes that would do. Of course Wayne was watching Lucy - he was in the house - but Lucy didn't ask for help. She just ran away with the afghan. She beat the the lawn mower with the afghan...in front of all the neighbors...until the fire was out. Phew... So, then Lucy drags the lawn mower back into the barn to call it a day, ONLY to turn around and discover that the lawn is now in flames. Never fear! Lucy stomped it out! Jumped up and down and beat those flames out! Good job Lucy!!

These kinds of stories go on and on. There's of course the I dumped over the melted chocolate and Covered the kitchen floor to ceiling, the Oh My God - 1,2,3,4,5 bottles of wine, and so many more that I would need a blog entirely to tell I Love Lucy stories. She really isn't named Lucy - It's Jean or Nannar to many - But I'll use Lucy today for the comedic entertainment it adds!

So here is the build up - The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. So now that my parents live with us in an in-law section of the house, poor Dave and Wayne never know what they are in for. Lucy and I can find our selves in some pretty comical situations. You've heard of some of my I Love Lucy moments. Of course there is Backing into the garage, and most recently I have Turned the pool green. Which leads me to the newest episode of I Love Lucy:

This morning I got up for my normal routine and went into my bathroom to shower. I turned on the shower and talked to my two cats, Romeo and Kitler for a brief minute. I then swung open the shower curtain to get in...and SHREEEEEKKK!! THERE WAS A MOUSE ON THE SHOWER HEAD!! Alright -I'm not a wimp and I am not afraid of mice, but I wasn't expecting this. I've NEVER seen a mouse in my house. So I threw on my robe and was off to find Lucy. She'd know what to do! I found her, but she was busy. Busy dying her hair- you know the Lucy color! I yell, "LUCY! There is a mouse in my shower! How am I gonna get it out?" I hear disbleif in her voice as she exits her own bathroom. Lucy has her hair soaking with her favorite color and her coloring gloves still on her hands. Lucy is ready to catch a mouse in the house!! We're off - we've got a towel and cup! Lucy thinks we might have to kill it -but I disagree, "No Lucy! Its just a tiny scared mouse. We'll catch him and let him go." She agrees.

We arrive back in the bathroom and the mouse that I thought was so small was still on the shower head. Scared of the water - but at a better look we decide he has probably been dining on Romeo and Kitler's catfood quite frequently - and this was our first introduction. So here we are dancing around the bathroom. Rememeber I'm with Lucy and she has in her hair dye and still hasn't removed her gloves, and I am in my robe. I'm convinced it can't be hard. It's a little mouse (ok a little big for a mouse...but little creature). I armed with towel and the big cup and Lucy's directing traffic! I reach up...piece of cake...yup...I...almost....NOPE!! I swear it must have been a baby flying squirel that only resembled a mouse!!! That little sucker jumped...no flew...off the shower head, over the shower curtain rod, and yes right over mine and Lucy's heads!! He somehow safely landed near our feet which caused us to not only scream but to dance around really fast. Even my ferocios (term used very losely) cats scurried away! Cats - they couldn't catch a mouse? This is an "I Love Lucy" episode, not "Tom and Jerry." We scuttled around and tried to find that little sucker but he disappeared underneath the base board heat! I had to go to work...so I don't know if Lucy kept up the good hunt after I was gone of not. Romeo and Kitler did come back and guard the baseboard while I showered but no dead mouse when I got home! I'm renaming my cats due to their current actions. They are now "Dumb and Dumber."

That's life with Lucy! And I feel so lucky to have Lucy as my Mamma! I wish Dave and Wayne had of been home to see us. I'm sure they would have been peeing their pants! My little Zach is going to have so many good stories to tell when he grows up. You never know what you are gonna get - but Lucy always promises entertainment!









Dumb and Dumber shown here on the mouse hunt!

Service? Hospitality? What's That? RANT...

So, I have been back to work for almost two weeks. For those of you that don't know, I manage a Marriott hotel and must live and breath service and hospitality. I will pause a moment and toot my horn and let you all know that my hotel has had platinum level service scores for a year and running! Yes. I walk the walk and talk the talk.

Now I have to wonder what happened to the service and hospitality everywhere else? Are my expectations too high when I am paying for a service? Do I think I deserve more? Is it me? And what about the little guys trying to stay afloat these days? Does anyone notice? Has it really become truly a dog eat dog world and everyone is out for their own self or is Dave right when he says I am a little short fused with people when we are out?

I am really at a loss. The other day Dave and I were in Lowe's looking for a very specific gift for my father. As we walked through the isle two associates were talking to one another and when I said excuse to get by NO ONE moved! Yes, I said "don't bother to move and no we don't need your help BUT thank you for asking!!" I would be EMBARRASSED if something like this happened in my hotel. Its not just Lowe's. It's everywhere. Dare I say it...it tends to be the big names with deep pockets that are the worst!!

The economy is bad folks. There are 100 or more people just waiting for the jobs that we already have...and yet this goes on and no one seems to care.

Which brings me to my next point. The little guys are taking a beating. The small business with a big heart can't survive these days. They don't have deep pockets for advertising and carrying payroll. I am a member of NiniBambini, a maternal wellness center here in Bedford. They provide MAGNIFICENT groups for mom's to be and new mom's. They also have a small retail shop that sell very wonderful products for mom's and babies. They have truly made my transition into motherhood much easier. Nini says she wanted a place that stressed Mom's could come to and say, "ahhhh." She did it. However, in this tough economy she struggles to keep the doors open. These ladies provide a haven for the woman that come there. They go above and beyond to take care of their members. Come anytime they say. Call us if you are crying at work. We'll help!! They don't just want to make money - they love what they do! They serve and care. Why Why Why are there not more people in the world like this? And why are these the ones having the hardest time?

I'm fighting back my friends!! My family lives on a tight budget these days too. I know we all do. However, I am done with the service fight. YOU ARE NOT GETTING MY BUSINESS ANY MORE BAD GUYS!! I believe I (and you) deserve to be treated well when you are paying for a service. If you don't want to do that for me then I won't be back! I encourage all of you to do the same. I am grateful for the job I have and that it is in a hotel brand that leads the world in truly exceptional service. If you visit me...I promise to deliver that to you!

You will have to excuse my RANTING blog for today. This has really been bothering me, and I seem to notice things a lot more now for two reasons:

1. The purse is a little (ok a lot) tighter these days making value very important

2. I have a baby now and I want my son to grow up with manners and respect for others.


And - here is a picture of America's future! Let's teach these babies right!!

I did it...and I'll do it again

So today was my big day. The dreaded day of returning to work after spending 10 wonderful weeks with Zachary. It just went by so quickly and didn't seem quite long enough. I tried so hard over the past couple of days not to think about it and just enjoy the time I had at home.

The inevitable happened as the alarm began to sound this morning. But for some reason Dave and I believed it was a day like any other that we leisurely rose from bed to get ready for work. Some how it had slipped our minds that there was a little 12 pound being that needed to be fed, changed, dressed and packed; in addition to us each having a shower, coffee, and breakfast. Oh, did I mention that Dave also had to pack to leave for his week in Rhode Island. All you pros out there are probably getting a good laugh out of this one. Dave was making a mad dash to the door to beat rush hour traffic as he said to me, "I don't know how you are going to get ready with him." Hmmm...well maybe if you hadn't snoozed the alarm 16 times I would have been up and showered already!!! Well, let me tell you...I did it!! And I'll do it again tomorrow too!

I was okay packing the baby. I was okay driving the car. I was okay thinking the entire was to the sitters that I could do it and I was fine. Then...the pass off came. I carried the car seat and diaper bag into Wendy's house. Seems simple enough. Leave the babe with one of your bestestes and her kiddos and go to work. One might think so. But, I fought back the tears as I told her were the breast milk was and what was in the diaper bag. I kissed my Zach and her two little ones and made a run for it. I feared if I didn't go and go fast I might not make it.
Don't get me wrong I do love what I do. Part of me was so ready to go back to work and feel like professional again. Deep down I actually knew I would enjoy my day at the office. But that was my baby I was handing over. My very own child that I carried for nine months, who I have spent almost every moment with for the last 72 days!




As you can see from the picture - he had an absolutely terrible time today! He looks miserable - just as I supected!! Not really! Look at him. Zach had a great time today hanging with the kids - that kept him very entertained. He was also pooped when he got home. He was down for the count at 9pm and that was after about a 45 minute nap when we got home around 5:30. Nanny Wendy is the best and made sure to send me video and pictures today while I was working. That made all the difference in the world knowing he was happy. Oh look at that face! I just want to kiss him and kiss him and kiss him!

I also had a nice day. It felt good to return to the hotel and see my staff I felt like I was giving a little more than clean diapers and milk on tap! Two other preggos now...it must be in the water there! That is 4 out of 10 in the last year...and the 10 is the entire staff not just the girls!

Tomorrow I will set the alarm just a little earlier, and shed a few less tears. I again I will be thankful for the great hands my son is in. But - when the day is over I will be so happy to see him again.

Today I did it...and tomorrow I'll do it again!