My Dad is the Coach!

I have some pictures that I never posted that I think are really cute.  It sort of shows how blessed I feel to have kids love their daddy so much. 

These pictures were taken during the football season.  If Joe's team wins their game, I make cookies.  Players receive a certain amount of cookies depending on how well they performed.  I wait for the list of names and the number of cookies they get.  I bake the chocolate chip cookies (every one's favorite), bag them, label them and deliver them.  I've been doing this for years and it seems to be something everyone looks forward to.  I'm glad to do it especially if it motivates some players to win just a little bit more.

As the years have gone by, my kids seem to get excited to deliver the cookies while Coach is working.  Coach gets them involved and it's just fun for everyone!

This was a particularly beautiful sunny day on the turf field!  The sun was setting with that gorgeous golden light that I love.  The weather was perfect!  We arrived towards the end of the practice on the field with the cookies.

The football team push sleds on Mondays following a game.  I think for every mistake or bad play of sorts they get disciplined in the form of pushing these metal heavy sleds.  When the kids come, Coach lets the kids sit on them and they get a ride.  You'll see what I mean.

We arrived a little early and my kids are hanging out waiting for Coach to call them to the field.

It's such a large turf field, you can't help but run around a bit.

We found these pom poms on the field.  Anne is practicing her cheering.

You're bound to be kissed by Mommy if you stand around me too long.

Coach calls the kids and they come running on the field.  They take a seat on those metal sleds and wait for one of the huge football players to come and push them as fast as they can to the other side of the field at the sound of the whistle.

Ready, get set, go!  They go back and forth a few times.  I'm on the sidelines watching the excitement and fun in my kids' faces!  The football players seem to also enjoy the slight change of pace.  They are teenagers - they are big boys, but as I listen to them talk to my kids, they are really sweet to them.

Then it's time to go inside and break down film.  Look how tiny they are?

But before they breakdown the film, the kids get to pass out the cookies to the players.  They have so much fun doing this too.

I love the fact that Coach can mix family and work together.  I love that my kids are proud of their father.  I think it's also nice for the football players to get a picture of a father (their coach) with his family behind him.  It's a rare thing nowadays to see a family intact and I feel so blessed to have that and to give it to my kids.  It is really a wonderful gift.

Even though Bernadette was a little too young to ride the sleds, she still had the best seat in the house!

Late Holiday Post

It's been a long time!  I've been pretty busy with little Maximilian and just the going on's of my family.  My camera is collecting dust. 

Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years just went by and I don't have any pictures to show for it.  That's pretty bad.  In my defense, I had a newborn baby and five other kids to tend to.  I wish I could take pictures with my eyes because I have all the great memories in my head - for now.

I do have some pictures, but they were all taken before Christmas and right after Thanksgiving.

Our Thanksgiving was great.  We spent it with family in PA.  I was 37 weeks pregnant and was hoping not to go into labor. 

At the Farm

My parents were also in town for the birth for whenever Max decided to arrive.  So right after Thanksgiving at the Farm (in PA) we drove to my parents house in Ft. Valley, VA.  We arrived too late to enjoy the bonfire my dad had prepared so we just did it the next early afternoon.

We had marshmallows and hot dogs, yum.  It's not the same as at night, but the kids didn't care.

My mom made her first long drive from FL to VA in the passenger seat of their car opposed to in the wheelchair accessible car!  Way to go Mom! 

My mom is doing really well.  She is currently still working on physical therapy so she can walk again. 

We also did some shooting.

This is not a real rifle, it's a bee bee gun.  It still has quite a kick, though.

Anne was a natural - watch out boys.

Tommy liked to use the binoculars to see how close we could get to the bull's eye.  The person shooting is a friend of the family.

We headed back home.  That week after Thanksgiving, November 29th our little Max was born!  He came a little earlier than expected but I wasn't complaining!

Christmas time was coming and while I was resting and healing and getting to know my little Max, I was shopping online for Christmas gifts.

We were deciding between a real Christmas tree or a fake one this year.  We took our trip to Home Depot to see what the fake trees had to offer and if we didn't like them, we'd go real.

Hmmm, get a fake tree or go for a real one?

We went for the fake one!

And all were happy and satisfied.  I don't think I will ever go back to real again.  Well, I will miss the smell and the earthiness about it, but the simpleness and aesthetics of a fake tree win for now.

There are so many Christmas activities I wanted to do with the kids, but couldn't get to it all.  I love Christmas cards and I was determined to get those done.  I got all the older kids outside and got their pictures done and then I woke up Bernadette from a nap that was late in the afternoon.  I should have planned better because all she did was cry, cry, cry.  That doesn't make well for Christmas photos.  I finally got a decent one of her.  Her eyes were a bit red, but I didn't care at that point!

I also wanted to try taking a photo of Max like the professionals do when they stick a baby in a cute basket naked with some sort of cute knitted blanket of sorts strategically placed on them.  Yikes, well it didn't work out too well - I'm NOT a professional.  You should have seen me trying to get poor Max to work with me.

Yah, he wasn't too happy.  "What are you trying to do, Mommy?"

Out of many, this one turned out decent.  I actually loved my Christmas card this year.  Wish I could post it on here, but don't know how.  I'm biased because they're my kids on there.

Overall, I had a blessed Christmas!  We celebrated with our newest addition to the family, we spent Christmas day with my in-laws, took another trip to the Farm where it snowed a lot and went sledding, had Max baptized with family and friends at our house, spent New Years with just the eight of us at home trying to stay awake till midnight.  We started the new year and ended vacation with a great visit from my sister and my nephew.

Now I'm in front of my computer with Max resting in my arms, boxes in the living room waiting to be packed with Christmas decorations.  Hope you all had a blessed Christmas, too. 

Baby #6

I've been slacking with my posts lately.  I have pictures to share and they are becoming pretty old already.  I'll have to get them up soon some time.

I thought I would share my excitement for my 6th child that should be arriving soon!  As with all my other kids, the excitement of meeting a new little one is just so joyous.

I am in the midst of the end of my third trimester and I tell ya, it seems to get tougher with each pregnancy.  I don't know, if I recall my past pregnancies, I think I am always complaining and whining towards the end that I don't think anyone really can tell the difference - but me.

I've had all different types of delivery stories and each one there is always something a little different.  With each pregnancy, there is something new I've learned or experience that I haven't before.  Thank God for Babycenter.com, a resource I use when I want answers. 

Let's see, with Anne, she was early.  She came around 35 weeks - premature, but not my much.  She was perfectly healthy when she came out.  I had the epidural with Anne and thought giving birth was a cinch!  I almost felt cheated because it was so simple.  Tommy came out early, too and I had another similar experience as I did with Anne's birth, easy.  Patrick, I got gestational diabetes and had to watch my diet and check my sugar intake.  That was difficult for me - I love sweets!  I ended up eating so many sugar free snacks that I didn't realize that the fat was still in the food I was eating.  I gained a lot of weight!  Patrick made it to term.  I went in to get induced but this time ended up having a placental abruption (50%) and had to have an emergency c-section.  Patrick was out in 10 minutes.  Everything went so fast that I didn't even realize how threatning that abruption was, for both me and Patrick, till after he was out.  Praise God.  With Eddie, I was planning on having a VBAC because I don't like the recovery at all from c-sections.  Just the thought of being sliced open doesn't make me happy at all.  With Eddie, my water broke for the first time.  The night before my water broke, I had a trickle of fluid come out as I was in bed and I thought I had broken my water, but it turned out (confirmed by doctor) that I must have just peed on myself.  Hmph!  The next night, my water broke and it was definitely the real deal.  No peeing on myself that time.  Eddie didn't cooperate and we decided to just have another c-section.  That was it - no more vaginal births for me.  Bernadette was a scheduled c-section, she made it to term and the surgery went so smoothly.

So, Baby #6 is on it's way.  I am currently 38 weeks and will be delivering this little guy on December 3rd at 9:30 am.  So, please keep us in your prayers  as I always get a little nervous right before the births.

My babies are usually really tiny - Joe & I are small people, I guess!  However, when I've gone in for my sonograms they said this baby is measuring large.  Wow, really?  Perhaps, it's my huge appetite?  I seem to become an eating machine towards the end of my pregnancy.  I swear I can eat so much if you let me.  I also passed my glucose test which meant I didn't really hold back when it came to sweets - yes, that must be the reason Baby is going to be big.  Bernadette was my biggest baby, she's also my tiniest child, too.  Bernadette was born at 7 lb.15 oz - I'm predicting an 8 lb. 6 oz baby.

With this pregnancy, I've gained 40 lbs!  I don't think that is all bad, but I feel like an elephant.  I recently saw a picture of myself and I looked like I had a basketball under my shirt.  I'm definitely more curvy with extra padding every where, but this baby really just sticks out.  A OBGYN randomly came up to me recently in a restaurant and just wanted to tell me how well I was carrying this baby.  Wow - thanks!

With most of my pregnancies, I've noticed how your hip joints get more relaxed because of that hormone relaxin (or something like that) which prepares your body for delivery.  This pregnancy, my hips are so relaxed that it hurts so much to just sit, put on socks, to lift my legs, to lay down in bed and get comfortable.  It feels like someone is stabbing me with a knife between my legs everytime!  Ouch!  I have to get Joe to manually position myself at nights.  This is a first for me, but not uncommon to pregnant women.

I wonder if I'll make it to December 3rd or not.  I keep wondering as I waddle around doing my thing.  Most probably, I will.  I am already contracting, but they are never regular.  With Bernadette, I always thought I was in labor, but wasn't.  I hate to go and call in for false labor!

Clothing is an issue right now, too.  My large maternity clothes are now too small and I'm looking ridiculous with my tummy hanging out!  Wish it was summer and not winter!  I could stylishly get away with it.  I refuse to buy more clothes this close to the end.  I am now wearing my husband's sweats.  It's also sad to think that I weigh more than my husband by a lot!

The kids are so excited about Baby #6!  I love when the kids come around and hug my belly.  When we pray at night, they always pray for Baby and it makes me so warm and fuzzy inside because their prayers mean so much more!  I love when they get excited when Baby moves around and they want to feel their brother.  Eddie, my 5 year old, is the most excited I think.  I am amazed. 

December 3rd really cannot get here soon enough.  The days just slow down when you are so close to the end, but then they speed up right after.  I really can't believe that I have 5 beautiful children already.  Each such a blessing and a joy.  God is really so good.

There are some viruses going on in our house right now.  This time of year with all the sickness going around, it's hard to keep track of them all.  The kids are all about done with the colds, but Joe just recently got strep and even though I have no symptoms right now, I'm hoping that doesn't develop between now and birth.  I've called the doctor already!

So, even though I really don't want to post any full pictures of me pregnant with Baby, I will post a top view of my belly!  Well, it seems I ran out of storage for my pics.  Oh well, will have to fix that somehow before Baby comes!

Till then, keep us in your prayers!

Thanks!

Halloween After "Frankenstorm"

Once I heard about the impending "Frankenstorm", aka hurricane Sandy, everything seemed focused on her...or him.  With all the business of school and costumes, etc... it took my Dad's text asking me about Sandy to see what he was talking about.  There's a hurricane coming this way?  Yup.  I took a look on the computer and started paying attention to the hype.  All I knew was that it was going to make landfall north of us and give us a lot of rain and wind.  That meant, I needed to be prepared for trees falling around us and for a possible loss of power for a few days. 

On our weekly trip to the grocery, which falls on a Sunday after Mass, the shelves were empty.  Hardly any water or bread left.  Wow!  It only made it inconvenient for me since I needed to get 24 mini water bottles for the Halloween party at my kids' school.  None were to be found, darn.

The rain started coming Sunday, the wind picked up on Monday morning, and Sandy made her appearance early evening Monday.  We slept in our basement in case of trees falling on our house.  The kids had so much fun down there!  The kids had no school for Monday and Tuesday.  I did all the laundry in case the power went out, but that never happened.  We stayed warm and comfortable through it all. 

Joe took some of the kids for a little walk in the wind and rain to see what it was all about.  Monday night when the kids went to sleep and at the peak of the storm, Joe and I sat on our porch with some drinks and snacks to watch Frankenstorm pass by.  Lots of wind, but that was about it for us - Thank you God.

With all the hype of Sandy, I sort of got distracted and forgot about Halloween.  The kids had school on Wednesday and everything sort of rolled from there.  We always carve pumpkins the day before Halloween.  It was nice to have the time to do it during the storm.

Anne decided to try a level two pattern to carve into her pumpkin.  Some where in the middle of carving she says, "I'm pretty good at carving pumpkins!"

Bernadette was just poking around and decided TV was a better option.

Eddie stuck around and dug out all the seeds and goop.

Patrick decided he wanted to carve his own pumpkin this year.  He wanted a simple pumpkin face with triangles and a few teeth and a smile.  "Nothing fancy, Mom."  He did a fantastic job until the squirrel distorted the pumpkin's left eye later that day.  Gotta watch out for those hungry squirrels!

Tommy got excited about carving this year.  He picked out a simple pattern to use for his pumpkin.  Once he started he seemed to have a hard time.  His pattern fell off the pumpkin and then he decided to just do a simple face instead of the pattern.  And then, he broke two of the carving knives.  What was going on?  Then with a sigh, he just decided to take a break!  Hmph.  It turns out, after I finished carving two pumpkins, I went to finish off his.  His pumpkin was like a piece of wood!  I had to get my steak knives out!  That poor guy was struggling with one tough pumpkin.  No wonder he was discouraged and gave up.  I also broke another carving knife, but got the job done.

The next day, was such a whirl wind of chaos in the morning.  I obviously wasn't getting ready the night before.  I prefer to save the details for the morning of.  I work well under pressure!  Since I am waddling around, 34 weeks pregnant,  I didn't volunteer to do much this year when it came to physically going to a school event, but signed up for the things I could do at home and send in with the kids.  I baked 24 cupcakes and decorated them.  I finished up Tommy's homemade costume while watching Conan the Destroyer with my hubby!

The next morning, I waddled around frantically getting costumes into bags with all their accessories.  Getting Halloween party items to the right kids.  Making 4 lunches and making sure they made it into their backpacks.  Got them fed and ready to go.  Before I left, I screamed a litany of items out and made sure they had them all - "Yes, Mom - got it!"  Ok, let's go.

Sure enough, someone forgot the huge bag of popcorn at home.  Ughh....Still had to make up for the 24 mini bottled waters that I couldn't get because of the storm.  So, after a quick trip to the local grocery, got the bottled waters (all stocked up again, yeh!), dropped off Eddie and went home to get the popcorn and made it back in time to drop off every body's party stuff!  It certainly felt like a frantic morning, but it all turned out just fine.

Halloween was my day off, so I dropped Bernadette off at my mother-in-law's house and enjoyed an nice quiet breakfast at Panera's. 

I did some shopping and then headed home to rest for an hour.  I went to Eddie's preschool to watch his Halloween parade.  It was his first one ever, so I told the older kids I might not make it to theirs.  School parades are a lot of fun!  I loved them as a kid and as a mom it's even better!

I asked Eddie what he wanted to be this Halloween and he immediately said, with no hesitation, a skeleton.  So, there is my little skeleton between the ninja and the cowgirl in pink!  He looks like a depressed skeleton because the mask was hanging low.  If you looked closely, his mouth is where his left eye is!  LOL!  I was assuming he had a big smile under there!  I gave my skeleton a big kiss, took a few pictures of him parading and then rushed off to see if I could catch my older three kids' parade.

I made it in time to see their last rotation around the school.

I had told the kids that I didn't want to buy any costumes this year.  Try to be creative.  I ended up buying just one costume - Eddie's skeleton.  Anne decided to go as a St. John's cheerleader.  I couldn't find any small costumes that were red, but had to make do with some athletic SJC gear we found at the school.  It worked out and she was cute and proud!  Go SJC!!

Tommy decided he wanted to be Steve from Mindcraft.  You either know Steve really well or you have no idea who or what Steve is.  Mindcraft is a really popular computer game kids play.  My kids play it every day.  Steve is a pixilated boy who goes into these worlds you can create with your imagination.  His costume was rather easy to make.  I found a box, found a website with a file that helps you print out what you need to paste onto the box and there you have it.  It was really creative and original - way to go Tommy.  Daddy and Mommy did all the work and research for this, however.

Patrick wanted to be a Zombie.  He could actually wear anything and add some make-up to his face to make him look like a zombie would.  I spent $2 for the make-up.  He ended up going as an alligator to school so parents didn't have to mess with putting make-up on.  He was an alligator last year.

This is right before trick-or-treating. 

This year, perhaps because of the lingering clouds from Sandy, it was way dark at 6 pm!  I couldn't get any good pictures of my kids.  The ones at school were better.  Oh well.  Once we started getting dressed for trick-or-treating, Bernadette seemed to get excited too.  She seemed a bit oblivious up to now.  She was all smiles the rest of the night. 

She seemed to start remembering what was coming up next.  Bernadette's costume was one of Anne's old costumes.

There's my crew!  Grabbed my stroller just in case I had someone who got tired, lit my pumpkins and left out a bucket of candy for our trick-o-treaters!

Our pumpkins turned out well:

I also love carving pumpkins.  I chose a level three pattern - I'm on the far left, the kitten and jack-o-lantern.  I also carved the SJC pumpkin - a bit too wide, but that's ok.  Anne's pumpkin is on the right.  She did it all by herself with absolutely no help.  She did a great job!

Tommy's hard-as-wood pumpkin is on the left.  Patrick's squirrel-eaten pumpkin on the right.

We usually just go around the block and the kids get tired, but this year they were able to go a little further!  Bernadette was having so much fun!  I took all five out by myself and it was actually easy this year because I put Anne in charge of watching Bernadette go up and down the steps and making sure she said her thank yous.  Bernadette got the hang of it and was overly gracious, "Thank you!  Thank you SOOO much!  Happy Halloween!"  She was in the spirit of it all! 

All of a sudden, they all pooped out at once and the stroller came in handy and I brought my kids home.  They were all allowed three pieces each and then it was time for bed.

 
It seems, the pixie sticks were the favorite candy this year. 

My little guy, you could just tell he is beginning to get sick.  He did fine, but he is currently home with the bug that has gotten to everyone.  Hopefully, it'll be gentle on this sweet boy.

As I'm writing this, I'm eating some of the candy I don't think Bernadette will like.  I don't think she'll miss it!  I'm still hungry - I'm always hungry.

Halloween night was actually perfect weather!  Chilly, but not too cold and the streets were full of bustling children excited about trick-or-treating.

I had a good time and waddling up and down the streets wasn't so bad at all. 

Some bonus pictures:

 
Pumpkin goop!  So much of it!

Wanted to put some SJC spirit out there since the big rivalry game against Gonzaga is this weekend!  Go SJC!!

Love the Pumpkin Patch!

I love this time of year and hate the fact I haven't gone out and taken some nice pictures of Autumn.  It's been so great entering this season!  The air is crisp, the colors are vibrant, the leaves are falling gracefully and my hot drinks really hit the spot!

I love going to the Pumpkin Patch as much as my kids.  This year I looked at my calendar to see when a good time would be.  The weekends are not an option just because it's just not as great as it is during the week - less crowds and less expensive.  The only time the kids would be able to go as a family (minus Joe) was a Friday afternoon after a half-day of school.  The weather called for rain in the morning and clear for the rest of the day.  Yeh!

We made a McDonalds run first to fill our stomachs (and to see if we would get any new Monopoly pieces - no luck), and then raced to the Pumpkin Patch. As we drove up, it seemed crowded with so many little kids on field trips!  I wasn't too excited about the crowds and me being alone to steer my kids amongst them by myself.  Yikes.

We made our way to the long line for the hayride to the pumpkin patch.  In the line, we enjoyed apples that came with our admission!  They look like Golden Delicious to me.  My kids eat the apples in the most interesting ways.  I took a look at Eddie and he had eaten the whole top off the apple.  I guess he had eaten the stem, too!  More fiber ;-)

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The other interesting thing I noticed is that they have no problem eating the skin of the apple when we're at the Patch!  At home, they make me peel it off! 

I forgot my camera, do you believe that?  Unbelievable.  I'm walking around the place with my iPhone using the Instagram application.  It takes too long - however, the pictures were cute.

I don't know if Bernadette remembers her time here at Butler's Orchard last year, but I know she seemed to enjoy it as if it was the first time!  She was really enjoying the hayride.

We made it to the pumpkin patch and quickly picked our pumpkins.  Didn't take long at all! 

Then we went to the slides, their favorite part!  This year, I didn't have to follow the kids to the slides, I could just let them loose and watch from the bottom of the hill!  Again, pictures aren't available :-(

I took the to the hayloft afterwards.  That place can be dangerous, especially if there are big boys that are not chaperoned jumping and wrestling around all the little ones.

I left that place with hay in my shoes and in my pockets.  Now the hay is on my living room floor.

The place had become less crowded due to all the schools having to get the kids home to their parents.  The crowds were perfect now that it was after 2pm.  It's actually the perfect time to go.  So, we continued to all the other attractions easily and then we called it a day!

Before we left, I went by their store where you can buy all sorts of stuff from their farm.  I ended buying some Mums for my porch and 3 carving pumpkins for Halloween.  Oh, and some of their delicious baked goods.  Anne and I love carving pumpkins!

The weather had called for no rain for the rest of the day, but it started to rain as soon as we left.  We saw a full rainbow on the way home.  It was the first time for my kids ;-)  It was the topic of conversation all the way home.  I'm just thankful that we didn't get rained on.

Overall, a good day.  This mama was tired!




My Little Scientist

Anne is now in 4th grade and I'm learning how smart she is.  She blows me away at how much information she can take in and how her logic is so advanced, in my opinion and compared to myself at her age, of course.  I don't worry about her when it comes to school work and grades.

She's very interested in a lot of things.  She wants to try it all.  She's more into stuff that are crafty, music based, fact finding, animals, etc...  However, once she tries it, she doesn't finish it.  She's got a lot of unfinished art projects.  She dives into something and then the interest sort of tapers off.  She's got a lot of unfinished projects.  I am beginning to tell her she needs to finish something before I give into her next fetish.

In the past year, she has received a bunch of gift cards and money.  She hasn't really spent it or should I say, hasn't found anything interesting enough to buy.  Her siblings, on the other hand, are always running out of money buying things they want.  Perhaps, she just forgets she has money to spend or she's naturally thrifty?  I'm not complaining.

We were in a Toys R' Us one day buying a birthday gift and we had time to walk up and down the isles and I reminded Anne that she had money to spend if she wanted to buy anything.  She ended up spotting a chemistry set that she thought would be so much fun to play with.  It was around $50 or so.  She bought it.

Once we got home, I sent her to the outside back porch to do her thing. 

She really loves those goggles ;-)  I thought it was so cute how they were on crooked and were fogging up on the inside.  She was having so much fun.

She is pacing herself through all the experiments.  I am not helping her at all.  I'm not too sure what sort of experiments she is doing, but it all seems pretty safe.  No disasters or explosions.  I'm just on her to clean up after herself, because I don't want to do it.

I hear smart people are messy.  True?  If that is the case, we have 7 very smart people living in this house!

Love my little scientist!

My 20th Reunion

I loved high school.  I don't know how many people can really say that.  I attended Mount Vernon High School in Alexandria, VA - class of 1992.  I loved being part of the MV music program which included chorus, symphonic band and marching band (I mainly spun rifles).  I loved the friends I made and the memories we created together.  The academics, I really don't remember too much.  Blocked it out of my memory, I guess!

It was an exciting time for me and I feel blessed to have had a positive experience.  Looking back, I remember looking forward to all the neat things that teenagers get to experience and how curious I was to do them.  I kept a diary when I was in high school (I actually started in 7th grade) and I religiously wrote in it every night.  This diary took form of a spiral notebook that fit into a blue durable plastic notebook cover.  I wrote only on the right side of the notebook and in only black ball point pen.  I had other rules too, just don't remember right now.  Point is, I always had something to write about.  I still have my 45+ notebooks tucked away in my storage space downstairs.  The ramblings of teenage kid - precious!

So, I missed my 10th reunion.  I remember being so excited to attend that reunion.  I am the kind of person who just loves people and curious as to why they are the way they are.  I love keeping up with people and where they end up in life.  They don't even have to be a close friend!  In high school, I remember finding so many people intriguing.  These people weren't necessarily my close friends, but perhaps someone who caught my attention from afar - totally random.  Not everyone is like me and ponder people the way I do.  In college I realized that Psychology was definitely the way to go!  I enjoyed studying it so much and also found a group of friends who delighted in people like I did!

I missed my 10th reunion mainly because that was the time in my life I got married and was pregnant with my first baby, Anne.  I suddenly had more important things to focus on and my 10th reunion didn't seem to be as exciting as it initially was.

Funny how time flies and my 20th reunion sort of creeped up on me.  Time has changed so much from when I was a teenager.  I wonder how my class of '92 would have operated in the year 2012?  I love Facebook!  It seems so obvious to me why.  Today, I am "friends" on Facebook with people from HS that I wasn't necessarily good friends with - simply because I'm on Facebook.  I love reading what people are up to and the things they experience and share.  LOVE IT.  For some people, it doesn't appeal to them at all.  My husband being one of them, my sister another.  But just wanted to let you people out there know - someone finds you interesting no matter who you are!  Even more, I love blogs.  Specially if it showcases who you are and your experiences.  If you write one - let me know!

So, I decided to go to my 20th reunion.  It's surreal just to think that I am attending one of these things - 20 years has past, really??  In the age of Facebook, I can keep in touch with most everyone anyway.  I was telling my husband how it was weird to attend a function when you know every one's business, but never really have "hung" out before.  I was pondering that for a while as the days passed by toward the big day.

The big day also fell on my husband's football game with Bishop O'Connell High School.  The game was changed from 2 to 3 pm and that would mean I would have to bring our change of clothes to the game, trade my car and my kids for my in-law's car so we could go straight to my reunion.  As we were sitting at the game watching the first half, I was happy because we were ahead 2 touch downs.  That would also mean my husband would be in better mood that evening.  However, by the second half of the game we were neck and neck till the very last play of the game...into OT!  Unbelievable!  I can't stand such intense games like that!  I was happy when it was over with an SJC win!  Go Cadets!!

So, I gather my stuff and change in O'Connell's student bathrooms getting ready for my HS reunion - funny!  I would have much preferred the comforts of my own house to get ready to see people I haven't seen in 20 years.  I also was going 31 weeks pregnant!  Not that it's horrible, it's just you don't want to feel fat and swollen on your reunion!

We arrived at the reunion and immediately were greeted by so many old friends!  Everyone looked really wonderful.  I'd have to say that the class of 92 aged pretty well.  Some people didn't even seem to have aged at all.  I saw my friend Carla!  We were great friends and shared so many precious memories together. 

She's one of one's I was talking about that hasn't aged a bit!  Both of us were missing our two other buddies, Renee and Theresa.  If I had the time and a scanner, I would of contributed the many pictures I had of the four of us on the MV slide show they had.  Good times!

I believe we had almost 350 in our graduating class and about only 70 came.  There was also a happy hour on the Friday night that I didn't attend.  Apparently, some more Majors showed up. 

As I was catching up with people, I had all these images and facts pop up into my head from Facebook.  I kept saying, "On Facebook..." all night long and I was almost embarrassed at how much I take in from my daily news feed. 

This is a picture of all the band members that showed up.

I wish I took more pictures! 

Not everyone took their spouses/significant others with them to reunion.  I definitely wanted my husband there since I did really enjoy this time in my life and wanted him to get a little glimpse of the people in my life before him.  I was definitely proud of him being by my side and wish people knew what a great guy he is.  He was a trooper while I went around and got caught up with friends. 

It was a lot of fun to visit the past and see how your old friends have grown up and see and hear about the lives they've lived since graduation.  I was so happy to see friends doing well.  It was nice to talk to some "friends" on Facebook in person that I didn't really know well in HS.  I even met someone who lives right around the corner from me! 

To all of the MVHS class of 1992, God bless you all and your families.  See you in at the 30th reunion.  Or...until then, on Facebook!!