I Suck At Celebrating My Daughter's Birthday

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I actually forgot I was Irish today, in part because today also happens to be my daughter's (Briana) birthday. Happy birthday, Briana! The big 3. I can't believe she is three years old. It seems like yesterday that she was a little premature baby in the neonatal intensive care unit. It's crazy how time flies. My darling little girl is three.

Anyway, Briana had her birthday party today. Joining in on the celebration were my parents, my mother-in-law, my father-in-law, my favorite sister-in-law (Janine), my niece (Kaleigh), my nephew (PJ), Karen's aunt and uncle (Denise and Paul), and Karen's grandmother. The theme for the birthday party: Cars. Ka-chow!

Too bad I suck at celebrating my daughter's birthday. We kept the party pretty simple: pizza from the Boston Pizza Company, a strawberry spinach salad, a cake, and Cars decorations. Despite the simplicity of the party, I think Briana had a great time. Funny thing is, I don't think she enjoys being the center of attention. There were moments throughout her party where she went to hide. Of course, maybe it's because she doesn't want to hang out with relatives. Just kidding.

Seems like the present Briana was most excited about this year was her Fisher Price Kid Tough digital camera. As of tonight, she has already taken 90 pictures, mostly of random things like the floor. She's funny with the camera.

Anyway, I think she had a great time and that's all that matters. Happy birthday, Briana! I love you.

I Suck At Celebrating My Daughter's Birthday

On Saturday, Karen and I celebrated my daughter's first birthday. Happy birthday Bridget! Unfortunately, I suck at celebrating my daughter's birthday.

Originally, the party was scheduled for Sunday but with the upcoming snow storm this weekend, we opted to move the date a day earlier. As it turns out, having the party today probably would have been okay. Weather forecasters (shake fist). Just kidding. And interestingly enough, we lost power for over an hour on Saturday during the party. So Sunday may have actually been the better day. Oh well.

Anyway, I think my daughter enjoyed the party. She practically inhaled her birthday cake. Surprisingly, Bridget ate her cake much neater than her sister (Briana) did when Briana turned one. And for anyone curious, there was a heart theme for the party. The cake was decorated with hearts. Karen and Briana made a "Happy Birthday" streamer of hearts. My favorite sister-in-law (Janine) cut bread into heart shapes for sandwiches. We made heart shaped ice cubes. It was nice.

Most importantly, Bridget had fun. And what's not to like about constant attention from both sets of grandparents, an aunt (Janine), cousins (PJ and Kaleigh), godparents (Karlene and Tommy), a great grandmother, and Karen's aunt and uncle (Denise and Paul)? And of course, I got to rib Karlene, the self proclaimed "fuddy-duddy". So that was always fun.

Incidentally, Saturday also happened to be Janine's actual birthday. Happy birthday Janine! Thus, following Bridget's birthday party, we immediately headed to the Villa Rosa in Quincy to celebrate Janine's birthday. For anyone curious, I think the Villa Rosa has the best eggplant pizza. I'm not sure what they do to their eggplant pizza, but it's always so good.

All in all, Saturday turned out to be a birthday celebration day. Hopefully everyone enjoyed it.

I Suck At Christmas

I had a great time on Christmas. Too bad I suck at Christmas. Like my two year old daughter (Briana) said this year, "best Christmas ever". Okay, so maybe it's not the best ever.

As a father though, this year was really nice because Briana simply enjoys Christmas. Even though she seems scared stiff of Santa, she seems to understand that he brings gifts to the good girls and boys and all of that. So needless to say, she was quite excited on Christmas morning.

This year, Karen and I hosted Christmas. It was a small gathering, consisting of our respective parents. But it was a good time. I think both of our parents enjoyed seeing Briana and my ten month old (Bridget) playing with their toys.

Later that night, we headed over to my favorite sister-in-law's (Janine) to celebrate Christmas with her and her family. And by we, I mean my family and Karen's parents. Luckily, I didn't have to kick my parents out on Christmas to make Janine's.

Needless to say, it was an interesting time at my favorite sister-in-law's. I got to school my little niece (Kaleigh) in Just Dance 4. Yep, I have moves. Or perhaps I can only bust a move to "Call Me Maybe" because I got schooled in subsequent dance offs against Janine and Karen. I think Karen may be addicted to the game now. Or maybe she's just a dancing machine.

I Suck At Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was the day I got to see my friend (Jen). Too bad I suck at Christmas Eve.

In the morning, Karen and I met up with Jen and my BFF (Kerry) for breakfast at Stars on Hingham Harbor. Christmas Eve breakfast has practically become a tradition now amongst all of us. I think all of us have been doing it since college. Sadly, this year my friend (Joanna) could not make it.

Joanna lives out in Oregon. And this year, she wasn't coming back to Massachusetts for the holiday. Bummer. She cracks me up with some of her stories.

Anyway, breakfast was delicious as usual at Stars. I ordered the low carb breakfast. The low carb dish was chock full of meat... eggs... and cheese. Basically, a protein dish. Normally, I don't care for low carb dishes primarily because I consider the term synonymous with dieting... and I don't diet as obviously from my svelte figure. (That's sarcasm.)

It just so happens that I did not eat much protein at all the day before. So come Christmas Eve morning, I had a craving for protein. And I devoured the low carb plate. Yum! Food aside, it was good to see Kerry and Jen even if most of my time was spent trying to get my two year old (Briana) to sit and stay in her seat during breakfast.

And as luck would have it, I got to see Jen again later that night. For some time now, Karen and I have hosted Christmas Eve for our families. This year, however, we decided to switch things up a little and host Christmas day instead. So doing the hosting duties for Christmas Eve this year were my mother-in-law and my father-in-law.

I have a feeling that my mother-in-law has been wanting to host for some time. So it didn't take much to convince her to host Christmas Eve... not that she needed convincing. Regardless, Jen happens to live near my in-laws. So she and her brother (Bill) came to Christmas Eve dinner too (after they themselves hosted for their family).

Needless to say, Christmas Eve was a good time.

I Suck At Santa

I suck at Santa... probably because there aren't too many Asian Santas out there. Luckily for me, I don't have to be Santa.

For the past several years, Karen's father has donned on the big red suit, big black boots, felt bag, and sparkly key for children of all ages to see. He says he enjoys seeing the kids look at him with wonder and awe, particularly his grandkids for whom he has been entertaining the past years.

Yesterday, however, I'm not so sure he quite enjoyed the experience. Karen and I invited our friends (Cass, Ellen, and Meredith) over to our house for a special Santa visit. Their respective children are around my two year old daughter's (Briana) age. My parents, and my in-laws also came over to share in on the fun.

Briana is actually the oldest of the bunch. One probably would not have guessed that she were the oldest, based on her reaction yesterday. After all, of all the children there, Briana was the only one who broke down in tears when she saw Santa. Granted, none of the other children were that keen on seeing Santa either. They were all pretty much scared of the man in the big red suit.

They loved the presents of course... just not the person pulling out the presents out of the bag. Anyway, it made for an interesting Santa experience. I'm curious as to why some children are afraid of Santa. I think my nephew and niece were also afraid of him when they were around Briana's age as well.

On the plus side, it was fun hanging out with Cass, Ellen, and Meredith. It was like a play date of sorts.

I Suck At Pseudo-Christmas

Today was the annual family event known as Pseudo-Christmas. Too bad I suck at Pseudo-Christmas. I should probably clarify things a little. Today was Karen's annual family event. And with that fact, comes the usual slogan of "There is a lot to like about Lowell", because Pseudo-Christmas is held in likable Lowell. Prior to Lowell, Pseudo-Christmas was held in Quincy, the city of (red) lights... where every intersection has a red light. It's a no-win situation either way.

For the past several years, Karen's family has done a Yankee swap on Pseudo-Christmas. This year's swap actually featured some quasi-rules on the fly that let people pick out of order... as well as awarding a late entrant to get the second to last pick. I guess it's a good thing that the swap contains bizarre presents.

All in all, it was an interesting time today. It was nice seeing Karen's relatives. The food was delicious too. And my two daughters (Briana and Bridget) seemed to have had a good time... probably because they received a lot of attention.

I Suck At Birthdays

On Sunday, Karen, my two year old daughter (Briana), my eight month old (Bridget), and I celebrated my father-in-law's birthday. Also joining in on the festivities were my favorite sister-in-law (Janine), my niece (Kaleigh), and my nephew (PJ). My mother-in-law, who we were not certain would be attending, was also there. She had been feeling a little under the weather the night before.

Anyway, I suck at birthdays. In celebration of my father-in-law's birthday, we went to Quan's Kitchen in Hanover. Needless to say, it was a good time at Quan's. The staff at Quan's just absolutely loved Briana and Bridget. Briana managed to even get some special treatment from her peeps by getting additional fortune cookies.

Like I said, Quan's Kitchen was a good time. Following Quan's, everyone headed back to our house for presents and cake. And I must say, the Friendly's ice cream cake was delicious. Yum! I think I'm going to have to request it when my birthday comes around. Mark your calendars. Just kidding.

I Suck At Apple Picking

This past Sunday, Karen, my two year old daughter (Briana), my six month old daughter (Bridget) and I went apple picking. Sadly, I suck at apple picking.

We ended up going to C. N. Smith Farm located in East Bridgewater. It actually turned out to be a family outing as well since my mother-in-law, father-in-law, my favorite sister-in-law (Janine), my niece (Kaleigh), and my nephew (PJ) went too.

Truth be told, it probably took us longer to get there than to actually pick apples. Of course, we took an extended route since... I knew I should have taken that left turn at Alberquerque. (By the way, Route 123 intersects Route 18... who knew?) Nevertheless, traffic getting into the farm was a little busy.

The picking of the apples did go by pretty quickly. For a while, it looked like Briana would only pick one... and only one... apple, but she ended up picking a few more as the day went on. I think it helped that I sat her on my shoulders for the first time to pick those hard to reach apples. Of course, Briana was probably jealous that I had Kaleigh on my shoulders to pick apples at one point as well.

Anyway, it turned out to be a good day to pick apples. As an interesting side note, we ran into our friend (Jenny) at the farm stand. The farm stand was tiny, but it had a cow, sheep, and chickens milling about. It is also located near the family photo area where you can stick your head through the hole for pictures.

It was actually there where we saw Jenny and her family. It was nice seeing her. Jenny used to own a day care, but she recently gave it up to work for Early Intervention. She seems to be enjoying her job, which is good.

All in all, it was a fun family day at C N. Smith Farm.

I Suck At Celebrating Nana's Birthday

On Sunday, my in-laws celebrated Karen's grandmother's birthday. Nana, as she is more commonly known as, turned the ripe old age of 90. Granted, she turned 90 several weeks ago. The party, however, was moved to this past Sunday to accommodate Karen's southern relatives. And as it turns out, none of the southern relatives could make it anyway. So moving the date of the celebration was... well... in my opinion... pointless.

That is just my opinion. I guess you can say that I suck at celebrating Nana's birthday. The celebration was nice. It was good to see my in-laws.

Truth be told, I don't really remember any topics of discussion. Of course, it didn't help that I was seated away from everyone because my two year old daughter (Briana) wanted to sit at a specific spot. That spot was on the other side of the room...

One of the things I do remember, of course, is taking Briana to "potty" at the nursing home where the birthday celebration was held. I remember it only because I think the same thing every time I am in the bathroom at Marion Manor: don't touch anything. Of course, I think that at most public bathrooms but nursing homes and hospitals more so.

You can probably imagine the cringe I feel when Briana attempts to use the potty at the nursing home.

My bizarre germ behavior aside, it was a nice celebration. I think Nana enjoyed seeing everyone there. Happy birthday Nana!

I Suck At Brave

Today, Karen and I took my niece (Kaleigh) out for her birthday. It has been one of the few family traditions that I actually enjoy.

Ever since my niece and nephew were young, Karen and I decided that we would do something with them for their respective birthdays until they no longer wanted us to do so. It was a way for us to give a gift of a memory, as opposed to just giving them some secular toy or whatever that would most likely collect dust after a few years and become clutter.

Lucky for us, neither Karen nor I have reached that stage yet for my niece and nephew where we are uncool to hang out with. So today, we ended up taking Kaleigh to see the latest Disney Pixar film: Brave. Now, I suck at Brave.

Without giving anything away, I enjoyed the movie. Plus, we got to see the trailer for another upcoming animated movie with a video game theme that looked pretty funny as well: Wreck-It Ralph. And although I can't say for certain, I think Karen may have shed a tear during one of the more touching mother/daughter scenes of the movie.

My father-in-law also joined us for the movie. He has been wanting to see Brave. Originally, he was planning to take my niece and nephew to the movie, but apparently Karen and I threw a wrench into that plan. Consequently, he came with us to the movie which was somewhat comical because Kaleigh imposed a rule for my father-in-law: no talking during the movie.

And after the movie, we headed to one of Kaleigh's favorite dining spots for lunch: the 99 Restaurant. It was fun to hang out with just Kaleigh. And of course, no birthday celebration would be complete without having the staff of the 99 sing Happy Birthday to Kaleigh, right? Needless to say, the staff was very accommodating.

I probably should mention that Kaleigh's birthday was two months ago. Two months ago, the plan was to do something else entirely. But since my favorite sister-in-law (Janine) never provided us with an available date to take her out back then, we waited... and waited... until the timeframe for celebration became a little absurd.

Incidentally, Janine wanted to do a similar tradition with my two year old daughter (Briana). She had been talking about taking Briana to the zoo. That was almost four months ago and she hasn't gone. So at least our delayed birthday celebration for Kaleigh isn't as bad in comparison.

All in all, I think Kaleigh had a good time watching Brave and having lunch with us, which is what is important. She even got to spend some additional time with us as we watched her and my nephew for a few hours while Janine went to the movies herself with PJ and her BFF (Gretchen).

I Suck At California Pizza Kitchen

Yesterday, Karen, my two year old daughter (Briana), my four month old daughter (Bridget), and I were invited out to dinner by my in-laws. The invite was spur of the moment, as it happened an hour prior to dinner time.

I had learned about the invite shortly after mowing the lawn in the sweltering heat. So it was nice to go out for dinner, even if it meant going to the South Shore Plaza in Braintree. I haven't been to the plaza in quite some time. It's not that I dislike the plaza. I just don't have any particular reason to head down there.

The reason why we were going to the plaza was because the invite was to the California Pizza Kitchen. Now, I suck at California Pizza Kitchen. I haven't eaten there in some time, which is surprising because the food is really delicious there. If anything, CPK would be one of the few reasons why I would go to the South Shore Plaza. (The Cheesecake Factory would be another reason.)

Anyway, it was a great experience at CPK. The waitstaff was great. The food was delicious. For anyone curious, I had the Waldorf Chicken Salad. ("Yum-O"!) Briana seemed to enjoy the salad too, since she has been on a grape kick of late. Yes, there were grapes (and apples) in the salad. Briana practically forced herself onto my lap so that she could eat the grapes... and drink my cherry limade.

All in all, it was definitely a good way to end the night.

I Suck At Father's Day

Happy Father's Day!

Sadly, I suck at Father's Day. Truth be told, I actually almost broke down in tears today on my way to the cemetery. The loss of my son (Braden) almost four years ago still hurts. I guess in some ways, it's good to know that I'm still human.

All in all, today was a nice day. My in-laws invited Karen, my two year old daughter (Briana), my three month old daughter (Bridget), and I over for lunch to celebrate Father's Day. It was nice of my in-laws. Plus, the lunch was good.

One of the more interesting things about today was actually running into my friend (Jen). My in-laws happen to live near Jen. As we were taking Briana and Bridget out for a walk down Wollaston Beach, I mentioned to Karen that perhaps we should stop by Jen's place to see if she would want to go for the walk too.

And pretty much on queue: a car comes driving along, stops right in front of us, and out jumps Jen. Jen was ecstatic to see us and go for a walk along the beach. It was bizarre timing.

Regardless, it was good to see Jen. I haven't seen Jen in some time. Apparently, she is running a couple of road races soon. She even wanted me to run one of the races with her, which is quite enticing. The problem of course, is that I haven't done anything remotely active in over two years unless overeating is considered "being active".

In all honesty, I have been thinking about running a lot lately. My latest idea has been to go running at night when my family is asleep, since that is generally the time I have available to myself. I'm not sure if Karen agrees with my idea or not.

I know she's not too fond of my parcour idea. Hardcore parcour! I've been toying with the idea of trying parcour. The subject interests me only because it looks neat and I'm currently addicted to American Ninja Warrior. But we'll see. And for anyone curious, I think Wollaston Beach would be a nice place to start parcour. At least, that was what I was thinking while walking along the beach today.

Anyway, that was pretty much my Father's Day. The day was rather low key, which I actually preferred because it indirectly involved Braden. I still love you and miss you, Little B. Take care.

I Suck At The St. Ann Parish Picnic

On Sunday, Karen, my two year old daughter (Briana), my three month old daughter (Bridget) and I spent the afternoon in the city of (red) lights, known also as Quincy. I guess Quincy can also be referred to as the red light district. Just kidding. Despite growing up in Quincy, I'm not exactly a big fan of the city due to the fact that every intersection in Quincy has a red light. It makes traveling through the city very time consuming, which drives me absolutely nuts.

Nevertheless, we were in Quincy on Sunday because we attended the annual St. Ann Parish picnic. Too bad I suck at the St. Ann Parish picnic. Now, I'm not religious. Even if I were, St. Ann Parish would be too far for me to call it my parish. The only affiliation that I have to St. Ann, other than getting married in that church via Karen, is through Karen's mother who regularly attends the services. My mother-in-law invited us, along with my favorite sister-in-law's (Janine) family, to the picnic. It probably should not come as a shocker that Janine and her family did not attend.

Regardless, my mother-in-law was beaming on Sunday . She was just ecstatic to be able to show off her grandchildren to her friends. It was actually pretty funny to watch her talk about my kids to her friends. For that reason alone, I'm glad we went to the picnic. I'm sure it made her day.

The picnic was held at Pageant Field in Quincy. I was actually surprised with the organization of the picnic. In addition to the grilling of burgers and hot dogs, there were horse and pony rides, face painting, and the ever popular jumpy house. I actually spent most of the picnic by the jumpy house thanks in part to Briana.

Briana has seen them before, but she had never entered one to actually jump around in... until Sunday. It was interesting to watch her in there. Initially, she just stood in the jumpy house because she was unsure about what to do. Several minutes later, she would hop a bit in place. Several minutes after that, she would hop in a straight line. And from there, she went jump-crazy and bounced everywhere. Needless to say, she loved jumping around. She definitely did not want to leave. That's for sure. It took some bribing to get her out (like the pony and the face painting... to which she only touched the pony and got a soccer ball painted on her hand).

Interestingly enough, I had recognized two people that I graduated high school with. Well, Karen recognized them. I did the math and put two and two together. Apparently, they (Dave and Jen) did not know who I was which makes it definitely a possibility that I can go to the scheduled 20 year reunion this November as somebody else.

Speaking of which, they had attended the previous high school reunions and were not that impressed. As a result, they were on the fence about attending the 20 year reunion this year. From what I have heard about the past reunions, I wouldn't be impressed either. It seems like none of the elected officers from my high school class watch television. Reunions, at least in the television world that I know, are usually held at big function areas. Only the graduating class is supposed to attend. There's a check-in area where you get a name tag, etc. Apparently, that hasn't been the case so far with my high school class reunions (which actually may explain why I had no clue who some of the people were on the Facebook group). Oh well, we'll see if I am still on the fence come November.

Anyway, I thought the picnic was surprisingly a good time. Sadly, I may have to attend it every year now thanks in part to the jumpy house. But I guess that's all right. I know it made my mother-in-law happy.

I Suck At 100 Day Parties

On Sunday, my family celebrated my three month old daughter (Bridget) by having a 100 day party. Now, I suck at 100 day parties. We held a similar party for my two year old (Briana) a couple of years ago, but she had more fanfare since she was the first to reach that milestone. Sadly for Bridget, the youngest child gets the short end of the stick.

My parents wanted to throw her a 100 day party because... well, it was too late for the traditional one month red egg and ginger party. (Remember, the youngest child gets the short end of the stick.) Truth be told, my mother actually went for a visit to Hong Kong for a month shortly after Bridget was born. So the timeline got a little out of whack in terms of "tradition". So a 100 day party it was.

And because the youngest child gets the short end of the stick, the planning of the party has been sort of a headache. Originally, the party was planned for Saturday the week prior. But due to my favorite sister-in-law (Janine) and her family's weekend plans, the party date was moved to Sunday. Interestingly enough, only Janine was able to attend on Sunday. It turns out that the rest of her family wanted to attend something else instead.

Regardless, I think my parents had a good time. Besides my mother-in-law and my father-in-law who attended the party, my friends (Jen and Bill) stopped on by. My parents were happy to see them since they had not seen them in quite some time.

Truth be told, I actually did not get a chance to socialize much on Sunday. Aside from helping my parents prepare food for everyone and the cleanup afterwards, I didn't really have an opportunity. And by the time I did, everyone had left. Oh well. At least my parents were happy.

I Suck At Beauty And The Beast

Surprisingly, the most interesting part of Saturday was not the birthday party celebration for Karen's grandmother who turned the ripe old age of 91. Don't get me wrong. The celebration, which was held in Dedham, was a nice event.

There were a whole slew of people at the party which included my mother-in-law, my father-in-law, my favorite sister-in-law (Janine) and her family. There were also a bunch of other relatives on Karen's father's side that she hardly sees who were also in attendance.

And like many other outings, I spent much if not all of the event doing the parental thing as my two year old daughter (Briana) wanted to run around and play on the lawn in the drizzling rain. Fun. It appears though that the hot topic of the party seemed to be the fact that Karen's grandfather's brother looked exactly like Karen's deceased grandfather. At least, that is what I have been told.

Needless to say, I think Karen's grandmother had a good time which is all that matters. Following the party, Karen and I got sucked into a movie when the kids went to bed. It was sort of an impromptu date night. Getting sucked into a movie rarely happens in my household, primarily because Karen doesn't watch as many movies as I do. But there we were on Saturday, sitting in the couch and glued to the television.

The movie that we were so intent on watching was Disney's Beauty and the Beast. Now, I suck at Beauty and the Beast. It just so happened that ABC Family was showing the movie (back to back). Karen and I haven't watched Beauty and the Beast in quite some time. Surprisingly enough, we still knew most of the words to the songs and some parts of the movie. I don't know if that is sad or not.

Without a doubt though, Beauty and the Beast is one of Disney's better films. After all, the movie was the first animated film to ever be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. I'm still partial to the Little Mermaid which I have seen over 50 times. Beauty and the Beast, though, might be second on my list.

For anyone curious, back in 1991 when the movie was released, I saw Beauty and the Beast with my friends (Jenny and Robin). It was Jenny and Robin's feeble attempt at getting me to admit that the movie was better than the Little Mermaid. Even with my selective memory, I do remember watching that movie in the theaters with the two of them, probably because Robin gave me candy during the movie. I was a flirtatious youth back in the day. Now, I'm a crotchety old man shaking his fist at things like the irony of social networking making people anti-social when they are actually face to face.

Anyway, I had a blast watching Beauty and Beast again. It was definitely the highlight of my day on Saturday.

I Suck At Celebrating My Mother-In-Law's Birthday

This past Sunday, my family and I celebrated my mother-in-law's birthday. Too bad I suck at celebrating my mother-in-law's birthday. For the celebration, Karen's family took everyone out to Quan's Kitchen located in Hanover. Apparently, Chinese food has been a tradition when it comes to my mother-in-law's birthday celebration.

Joining in on the festivities were my favorite sister-in-law (Janine), my favorite niece (Kaleigh), and my favorite nephew (PJ). If it were a competition between son-in-laws, I scored some major son-in-law points on Sunday in part because PJ could not attend the celebration. I would say I'm up a few points by now. Just kidding.

Anyway, the food at Quan's Kitchen was quite delicious. I must say, the manager of the restaurant is very friendly. She came over to our table many times to ensure everything was good. Plus, I think she wanted to say hello to my two year old daughter (Briana). Incidentally, I think Briana likes the restaurant a lot.

I spent a good chunk of time at Quan's Kitchen walking around in circles up and down the aisle of tables with Briana. If she takes after Karen, she'll probably be a distance runner. Truth be told, I'm not sure how many laps I made around the tables. I lost count after 10.

Following the delicious lunch, everyone headed back to our place for dessert and presents. Turns out, my mother-in-law loves Martha Washington geraniums. Apparently, those geraniums are hard to find this season. Luckily, Karen was able to find one for her mother's birthday.

And what may be the most memorable part of the day for me is the look of joy my mother-in-law had when she saw her "Nana" t-shirt. My mother-in-law wants to be known as Nana to my kids (and my niece and nephew). Her claim, however, is that there are not a lot of shirts that use the term "Nana". Luckily again, Karen was able to find a shirt that mentioned "Nana". (Karen is such a good daughter, right?)

Anyway, I say the Nana t-shirt was the most memorable part of the day because I don't think I have ever heard my mother-in-law shriek with joy. If only I had recorded my mother-in-law's reaction... if only.

All in all, I think my mother-in-law had a great birthday celebration.

I Suck At First Communion

I'm afraid I'm falling miserably behind with my postings. Seems like raising a two year old and two month old are harder than I thought. Just kidding.

Anyway, last Saturday was my niece's (Kaleigh) first communion. Yes, that is how far behind I am with my postings. I suck at first communion. It's not just because I still have original sin, which I do. I suck at first communion because I actually did not attend the service for Kaleigh. I undertook the parenting duties that Saturday so that Karen could attend.

Regardless, this year was a two-for-one deal. Not only did Kaleigh have a first communion party, she also had a birthday party as well. Luckily for me, I was able to attend the party following the church service.

The party was fun. Not only did I get to see my favorite sister-in-law (Janine) and her family, I got to see my mother-in-law, father-in-law, the Lowell contingent (Aunt Denise, Uncle Paul, Karlene, and Tommy), Karen's grandmother, Karen's Aunt Margie, and PJ's family. There were definitely a lot of people there on Saturday, that's for sure.

I remember thinking on Saturday night that I was going to write entirely about Tommy for this post, despite the whole "Jesus Saves" slogan concocted by PJ for banks to use. Tommy had mentioned how he only reads my blog to see his name. I thought that was kind of comical because I don't even read my blog and I'm in it. So in honor of Tommy, I wanted to put his name in. Here it is: Tommy, Tommy, Tommy, Tommy, Tommy, Tommy, Tommy, Tommy, Tommy, Tommy, Tommy, Tommy, Tommy.

Kidding aside, the two-fer party was fun. It was good to see everyone, albeit briefly. I think I spent more time watching my two year old daughter (Briana) go up and down the slide an endless number of times than actually socialize, but it was fun.

I Suck At Baptisms

This past Sunday, my seven week old daughter (Bridget) started down the path of hypocrisy and despair. Yep, Bridget was baptized on Sunday. Too bad I suck at baptisms.

In comparison to my two year old daughter's (Briana) baptism, I'm afraid I did not pay as much attention this time around to the sermons. The first time around, I learned all about the holy oils and the chi ro symbol, which really was not part of the sermon. Sadly, this time around I spent much of the sermon being distracted by Briana as she grew weary of being stuck in a pew for an extended period of time.

Don't get me wrong. I was still able to crack a smile when the priest mentioned the Oil of Catechumens, only because ever since Briana's baptism I have called it the Oil of Cat and Humans. Meow! But aside from that, I don't really remember much, which is sad considering I held Bridget the entire time. For the record, Bridget was very good during her baptism. Granted, she was asleep the entire time... even with water pouring on her head.

Anyway, following the baptism, everyone in attendance headed back to our house for a little celebration. Attending the shindig were Karen's relatives: her aunt (Denise) and uncle (Paul); her parents; my favorite sister-in-law (Janine) and her family (PJ, PJ, and Kaleigh); and Karen's Lowell-loving cousin... and Bridget's godparents (Karlene and Tommy). The turnout this time around was smaller than Briana's baptism, which only feeds into the notion that the younger child gets the short end of the stick on things.

Truth be told, I was a little disappointed that my parents couldn't make it. My mother is currently on vacation in Hong Kong visiting relatives. But at the end of the day, it's okay that they weren't there. After all, my parents are not religious at all, which was a blessing growing up.

All in all, I think everyone in attendance had a good time. It can be quite the rigamarole at family gatherings. For me, the part that I enjoyed the most about the little shindig was hanging outside with PJ, PJ, and Briana. PJ and I were hanging outside, sitting in lawn chairs in the backyard, while my nephew and daughter played around in the yard. It was a good time.

I Suck At Easter

Yesterday was the day Jesus Christ became a zombie. Just kidding. Happy Easter everyone! Yes, I suck at Easter.

My Easter morning began with a little egg hunt. As it was a little cold during the morning, we decided to hide some eggs for our two year old daughter (Briana) within the house. For me, it was cute watching Briana searching for eggs. When she found one, she would yell "Egg!" and hold it up in the air for both Karen and I to see. It's those little things that crack me up.

Following the hunt, Karen and I along with our newborn (Bridget) and Briana were invited over to my favorite sister-in-law's (Janine) for brunch. It was good to see the in-laws. There may have been an initial rigamarole with the brunch because Janine lost her list detailing who was bringing what, but in the end it all worked out.

My nephew (PJ) cracked me up. In an effort to make some money (to buy a robot), he was asking everyone if they wanted their cars vacuumed for a paltry $2. "I want my $2." That was a reference to the classic movie, "Better Off Dead". Mental note: make sure to get your car vacuumed first. PJ seems to lose focus after the first vacuuming.

Needless to say, PJ is one step closer to getting that robot. My niece (Kaleigh) also wanted in on the action, but she had yet to figure out what she could do to earn money. I was going to suggest babysitting only because she does a great job playing with Briana. I then thought better of telling my niece that suggestion since then she would probably demand that I pay her whenever she played with Briana.

All in all, it was good to see my in-laws, Janine's BFF (Gretchen) and PJ's relatives. Sadly, I did not get to see my father on Easter. Apparently, my father spent Easter alone after telling me that he had plans for Easter while my mother was away. Turns out, my father's plans were shorter than expected. As a result, he was home alone for the entire day. Thankfully, the neighbors brought him over an Easter dinner. I thought that was very nice of them.

I Suck At St. Patrick's Day

Not only was Saturday the day that everyone is Irish, it was also my daughter's (Briana) second birthday. Happy birthday Briana! And Happy St. Patrick's Day! Too bad I suck at St. Patrick's Day.

And what better way to start off a birthday celebration than to visit the local public library? Needing to get some signatures for my nomination papers to run for the elected position of Board of Trustee for the library, I decided to take Briana to the library if for just an hour before her actual birthday party. Sadly, my daughter's cuteness only went so far at the library as I only managed a handful of signatures.

Following my brief father/daughter bonding time at the library, we headed home to celebrate Briana's birthday. Joining in on the festivities were my parents, Karen's parents, my favorite sister-in-law (Janine) and her family, and Karen's Lowell-loving cousin (Karlene) and her husband (Tommy).

By the way, it turns out that Tommy wants to be my campaign manager for my Board of Trustee run. He apparently has done a lot of research into how many candidates were running this year for the Board. Who knew? If it works out and I'm elected, then forget my friend's (Cass) bid to become mayor of Quincy. I'll do it myself. Just kidding. I'll call it the "Asian Contagion" campaign.

Anyway, Briana's party was good. As far as parties go, Briana's birthday celebration was very low key. We ordered pizza from Sal's. The pizza was delicious as usual. And for anyone curious, for the entire week Sal's is having a corned beef and cabbage pizza special. I have been told that it tastes like a reuben. I'll admit it. I'm curious.

For dessert, Karen and I made an Elmo cake for our Sesame Street infatuated daughter. Well, Karen baked the cake and frosted it. I helped add the sugar sheet decoration to it. (In other words, I did very little.) Someday, I'd like to get more into cake decorating. But we'll see how that goes.

Karen's father also made an apple pie for dessert. Among the other things that Briana has been infatuated with lately is making apple pie. The apple pie that my father-in-law made was great. (That is his "thing".) He even spelled Briana's name with the dough. It was cool all around (and quite delicious).

As far as topics of discussions go, I'm afraid I don't remember too much from the party other than the logical train of thought from Karen's southern relatives to purchase guns as a preventive measure for some recent burglaries in their neighborhood, which is a little peculiar since they already have an alarm system. Hey, don't mess with the South.

When the party was winding down, my friend (Andrea) stopped by with a present for Briana. She got Briana a Fisher Price Little Mommy Ride 'n Drive Shopping Cart. And yep, Briana has been pushing that cart around for days since her party. She loves it. Needless to say, it was good to hang out with Andrea for a bit.

To be honest, the entire day went by very quickly. Shortly after Andrea left, and shortly after Karlene and Tommy left, Karen and I literally crashed. We went to bed pretty early, or early for me. Nevertheless, I think Briana enjoyed her day. She seemed pretty happy all throughout the day and that's really what matters.