Vocab Fun

Check out www.freerice.com

I played with my students today during our study hall. We donated 37,340 grams of rice!

It is addicting!

1st Birthday Party

Visit to Charlotte

John's Office!
The room John isn't allowed in. Lots of important computer stuff.
Baby Nichole Reilly

Big Sis Anna fell asleep at dinner!

Happy Birthday Ryane

Welcome Baby Nichole Reilly!

Welcome baby Nichole!

Recent Pics!

Kelly turned 30! Happy Birthday!

Ryane and Luke are still best friends.

Andy is training Ryane to be a stunt double. Yesterday she was jumping off the refrigerator.

Baby Kaitlin's Baptism with Uncle Mike and Aunt Mary and Mom Kerry.

Big sis Anna with baby Nichole!

Welcome Baby Ashley!

Baby Ashley Catherine! 

Congratulations Katie and Jason!

Proud Papa!

Best Friends

For You 1000 Times Over

Kelly (my book-club buddy) and I were discussing books a few weeks ago and she mentioned that Persepolis, one of our favorite graphic novels was recently made into a film. The link to the movie, that opened Christmas Day is below.

http://www.sonypictures.com/classics/persepolis/

I also heard the Twilight vampire series by Stephanie Meyer has been purchased by Summit Entertainment and is in pre-production. I'm currently reading New Moon, and unfortunately it's nowhere near as good as Twilight. Granted, I was reading Twilight in sunny Puerto Rico while sipping a strawberry daiquiri. I suppose reading the dictionary would be riveting in those circumstances.

Nonetheless, there is always a risk when you go to see the movie version of a book you love. I saw the film version of The Kite Runner this afternoon and I'm glad that I did. Of course I complained about the parts they left out; the characters left undeveloped (mostly Baba and Ali in my opinion) and the important inner dialogue that inevitably is missed whenever you translate a novel into a screenplay.

What bothered me most was that Afghanistan itself didn't come to the forefront of the film until the end. Throughout the entire novel the country played a huge supporting role; it helped the reader understand the characters, their motivations, their way of life and traditions. I don't think that was fully translated into the film. While reading this book I was fortunate to learn a small bit about a distant land and two families that lived there, mainly Amir and Hassan, "Sultans of Kabul". I wish more of that land was described, filmed, and explored in the movie. On second thought, I like the way it looks in my mind even better. 

Overall I give the film a B+.

Andy did not read the book and he said it was one of the best films he had seen all year. I agree. If you liked The Kite Runner, you may also enjoy The House of Sand and Fog with Ben Kingsley. 

I also recommend the film Osama. It was released in 2004 and was the first movie made in Afghanistan after the Taliban era.

http://www.osamamovie.com/

Welcome Baby Olivia

Welcome baby Olivia Marie. December 17th, 2007. 8lbs. 15 oz. 20 3/4 inches. 

Proud parents: Courtney and Gordon!

Isn't she beautiful? She looks like mom and dad!

Christmas Fun!

Daddo with Ryane and cousin Madeleine on Christmas morning!

Aunt Katie and Ryane on Christmas morning. Ryane loves water bottles. 

Ryane and Luke had a great Christmas! Ryane got spoiled by her grandparents and aunts and uncles. She scored a Spiderman "Build-a Bear" from Uncle Danny and some baby Converse shoes from Aunt Katie, to name a few!Luke got some minty fresh dog treats. Who could ask for more?

Here is a shot of the two best friends on Christmas morning! 

Santa made a stop at daycare to see Ryane and all the other boys and girls!

Ryane and Grandpa had fun decorating the Christmas tree.

Ryane loved eating wrapping paper! Next year I am going to wrap up wrapping paper and give it to her as a gift. 

Portraits were a hit!

We gave the grandparents some baby portraits for Christmas and they were a big hit! 

Photos by Justine Ungaro. 

justineungaro.com

Out of the Loop

I was recently (not) part of a conversation where vibrant young thirty-somethings were discussing the plots of their favorite TV series.  Then it occurred to me, I had no idea what any of them were talking about. I haven't seen a network TV show in ages. With the exception of the occasional HBO series and the news, I really don't watch much TV. 

(Let me add,  it is once again the time of year when I become a meteorologist. I find that George Michael on channel 4 and Doug Hill on channel 7 are the most reliable when it comes to accurately predicting school closings!)

What? I can hear my friends now! Mary, the queen of TV! Yes, it is true! I really don't watch TV too much anymore. Since Ryane has been around we've made point to turn off the TV. This basically means she has listened to hours of Howard Stern and a pretty heavy rotation of rap and punk rock music, thanks to her father. 

Back to my story... I have no idea what is going on with any of these shows people speak of: Nip/Tuck? Never seen it. Desperate Housewives? Stopped watching after season one. Laguna Beach? Haven't seen that one either. Heroes? Missed it. Why? Because I am in bed before all these shows even start.

See, my routine pretty much goes like this:

get home from work

feed munchkin

bathe munchkin
play with munchkin
put munchkin to bed
feed me
bathe me
read book
go to bed

Goodnight!

A mommy state of mind

My dear friend Erin and her boyfriend Frank have recently purchased a puppy, Calvin. And, may I add are about to purchase a home together. Thinking back to the days when Luke was a pup, all I can remember about those first few weeks was thinking, "If a puppy is this much work, I am definitely not ready to have a baby." I mean, I had to walk the dog every two or three hours, clean up his poop, make sure he was clean, fed and walked on a regular basis. This was serious work. An actual life was in my hands. The only relief I had was knowing that I could stick him in his crate for a few hours and go out if I wanted to. I remember thinking I can't do that with a baby! Or can I?

Of course not. My baby really hates when I do that. 

These pictures are from Katie's baby shower on Nov. 25th. Courtney is ready to have Baby Olivia! Any day now!

Katie and her mom. Baby Ashley Madison is due on Valentine's Day. 

What kind of Christmas Tree are you?

You Are a Cranberry and Popcorn Strung Tree

Christmas is all about showcasing your creative talents. From cookies to nicely wrapped presents, your unique creations impress everyone.

What Christmas Tree Are You?

Wrong. Andy has decided we are having a Nightmare Before Christmas Christmas this year. No popcorn on our tree, only skulls and crossbones this year for Santa. Pictures to come.

Because every girl needs a vampire book

Allow me to introduce my new favorite book series:

This is the first book in the series: 

Back from Sabbatical

I've recently returned from sabbatical and I'm now somewhat committed (at least for the moment) to undeviated blog postings. It turns out some people were checking my blog as an adroit little way to keep up with Ryane, Andy, Luke and I. 

Since it is the season of giving, and I don't have any money, the least I can do is post a picture of Ryane a few times a week. So for the few friends and relatives that read this, (I think there are 5 of you out there: Daddo, Ashley, Tash, Grandma, Melissa H, and Aunt Kathleen) I hope you enjoy the updates. I'll try to post as many pictures of Ryane as I can.  

 Baby Kaitlyn Nicole born Nov 15, 2007

Congratulations Dave and Kerry and big brother Christopher!

Cousin Blake and Ryane

Well, it has been a busy few months. Last weekend I made the trip up to northern Jersey to visit my good friend Ashley. She is getting married to the incredibly charming Tim in January and we stayed at their adorable new home. Ash thought we were all coming up for her wedding shower which was lovely, but she had no idea that Tim had planned a surprise 30th birthday party for her that night. Ash was so surprised. All of her friends and family were waiting to surprise her when we reached the restaurant that night.

Ashley's house and surprise party

Puerto Rico

In November I was lucky enough to jet down to Puerto Rico for the wedding of dear friends Jenny and Rob. Jenny was a beautiful bride and we had a lovely time at The Conquistador Resort. The four of us pictured below made $40 last for 4.5 hours at the blackjack table. Not bad, huh? 

Jason with all the ladies. Jason and Erich were the only husbands on the trip, so they endured their share of girl talk.

Baby Payton, or "Pay Pay" was having a terrific time at the rehearsal dinner.

Happy Halloween