I Suck At Celebrating My Daughter's Birthday

My youngest daughter (Bridget) turned the ripe old age of one on Wednesday. Happy birthday Bridget! Too bad I suck at celebrating my daughter's birthday.

Normally, I would attribute Bridget getting hosed on a lot of things due to her being the youngest. After all, I don't have nearly as many pictures of Bridget that I do of her older sister (Briana) when Briana was one. We didn't do photo books for Bridget like we did for Briana. We didn't have a professional photographer take Bridget's picture. Flat out... Bridget gets the short end of the stick.

As it so happens, the weather happened to be quite nasty on her birthday. With the downpour of rain, it made doing something on her actual birthday difficult. For anyone curious, I think we took Briana to the zoo for her first birthday. See... Bridget gets hosed.

So in a somewhat spontaneous act, we decided to take Bridget to spend some time with her godparents (Karlene and Tommy). Unfortunately, that meant traveling to the great white North known as Lowell in the pouring rain. Luckily, there's a lot to like about Lowell... or so they will have you believe.

Anyway, I would say Bridget absolutely enjoyed seeing Karlene and Tommy. Heck, she shuffled her feet around their house more than she does at our house. She's definitely walking more. Likewise, I think Karlene and Tommy were excited to see Bridget and Briana.

We didn't really stay too long in Lowell. Karlene and Tommy were gracious enough to make us dinner. We had discussed a few things like having a work blog. One of Karlene's friends has one. I was a little curious about that because I wondered how does that come about... does the company just add that to your job duties? And really, what about work is blog-worthy?

All in all, it was a fun time. I think Bridget and Briana enjoyed the time as well. So it was definitely worth driving in the pouring rain to celebrate Bridget's birthday with her godparents. And to be honest, I think collectively that is where Bridget did not get the short end of the stick: the godparents. After all, Briana's godparents were supposed to take her out for her birthday of last year. It has almost been a year and they haven't gone anywhere... and her next birthday is in a few weeks.

Regardless, happy birthday Bridget!

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 New Year's Day

Tuesday kicked off the start of 2013. Happy new year! Sadly, I suck at New Year's day.

For me, New Year's Day was quite different from past New Year's Day events. Traditionally, Karen and I would spend the day shopping and just hanging out with Karen's Lowell-loving cousin (Karlene) and her husband (Tommy). This year, however, was a little different.

With the morning off to a very slow start, Karen, Karlene, Tommy, and my two year old daughter (Briana) went shopping while I stayed at home to put our ten month old daughter (Bridget) down for her nap. Briana was quite excited because she got to go to her favorite store: Target. I'm assuming Tommy was quite excited too because we gave him a coupon for some free floss, which he apparently had been wanting to get. And like I always say, free is good.

Anyway, when everyone returned, my favorite sister-in-law (Janine) and my niece (Kaleigh) also stopped by our house. Apparently, they (and by they I mean Karen, Karlene and Janine) had planned a little craft outing together. Tommy and I pretty much hung out.

Truth be told, it was a rather interesting craft project. Janine had seen something on printerest that piqued her curiosity: creating a scarf from a t-shirt. Needless to say, she had Kaleigh attempt the project first before trying it herself. From there, Karen also gave it a shot. She used her special red "NQHS I am somebody" t-shirt for the project. She loved that shirt.

Not to go on a tangent, but I was curious as to how that t-shirt slogan even came about. "I am somebody"? Hey, look at me. I'm somebody. Was Karen's high school class often neglected or something? I'll have to ask around to see if anyone knows the derivation of the t-shirt.

Regardless, that essentially was the highlight of New Year's. It was good to see Karlene and Tommy again.

I Suck At New Year's Eve

Tonight, Karen and I resumed tradition by hanging out with Karen's Lowell-loving cousin (Karlene) and her husband (Tommy). We had foregone last year's New Year's Eve tradition because Karlene was sick and I think Karen wasn't feeling too well either during the pregnancy at the time). Regardless, I joke saying that last year Karlene ruined New Year's Eve. Yep, I suck at New Year's Eve.

Anyway, because I had to work today, Karlene and Tommy came down to visit us. My favorite sister-in-law (Janine) and her family who were spending the past few days with us were going to spend the night back at their own place since the smoldering fire. Hopefully, their place is less smokey now. So in essence, Janine and her family were going while Karlen and Tommy were coming.

I'll admit. I am curious to see if sleeping back in my bed will feel downright awesome or if it will be just blah. I have been sleeping on our pull-out couch the past couple of days. I remember when I came back from our vacation down to Onset that sleeping in my own bed felt awesome. I wonder if I will feel the same thing after the past few days.

Needless to say, it was fun hanging out with Karlene and Tommy. We practically played this new game that Tommy got for Christmas: Disney Hedbanz for... hours. We definitely played until the new year, that's for sure. For anyone curious, Disney Hedbanz is like the "Who Am I" drinking game... just without the drinking. Or I suppose there could be drinking during the Disney version.

Among some of the more interesting topics of conversation that came up during the night were playing favorites, and praying. Karen's family is keen on not playing favorites, even though I disagree that it's people's nature to play favorites.

As for praying, that topic came about because Karen's family is supposedly faith-based. And naturally because I dislike religion (and still have original sin), I made the comment that praying is essentially useless because it does not influence the thing that is being prayed for. At best, praying's sole purpose is to make the person who is praying feel like they are altruistically helping. Of course, my view on praying may be clouded because I lost my son (Braden).

Regardless, it was a good fun night. Truth be told, I was quite surprised that Karen actually made it past midnight. She's usually in bed well before then. But she made it this year. Yay. Anyway, Happy New Year!

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 Halloween

Due to Hurricane Sandy, the town of Norwell rescheduled its celebration of Halloween to Saturday. Too bad I suck at Halloween.

Truth be told, it was actually pretty nice to celebrate Halloween on the weekend. After all, the rescheduled date allowed for Karen's cousin (Karlene) and Karlene's husband (Tommy) to venture down from the always likable city known as Lowell to see their godchild, my eight month old daughter (Bridget).

In addition, my friends (Cass and Ellen) came down to celebrate Halloween. Cass and Ellen's daughter was sick on the actual date of Halloween in her city. Consequently, we had invited them down to partake in the trick-or-treating that she had missed.

Needless to say, it was a fun Halloween. This year was the first year that my two year old daughter (Briana) actually went around the neighborhood to trick-or-treat. The previous times, we had just taken her to our next door neighbors. But this year was the year... and she did great.

Dressed as a frog, she actually went door to door around the neighborhood. Granted, she only made it down one block before she got tired and wanted to go home, but it was a start. I know she definitely enjoyed getting candy to fill her little pumpkin.

Following the trick-or-treating fun, all of us headed back to our place where we just hung out for a little while. Briana did something she had never done before: show Cass and Ellen's daughter her room.

All in all, it was a good Halloween.

I Suck At Kid Parties

This past Saturday, Karen, my two and half year old daughter (Briana), my seven month old daughter (Bridget) and I were invited to a kid party located in the boonylands known as Methuen where our friends (Kristine and Rick) live. Now, I suck at kid parties.

Nothing says fun like attending a kid party full of parents and kids where the only person you know are the parents of the birthday child. This is probably the one time that I'll shake my fist and say curses to Briana. After all, it wasn't until Briana was born that Karen and I got invited to these kid parties. It's funny how that works.

Regardless, the theme for their son's party was Star Wars. Kristine did a nice job organizing the party. I know the highlight for Briana was probably the bouncy house. And really, what's not to like about bouncy houses?

Anyway, after the kid party fun, we ended up visiting Karen's Lowell-loving cousin (Karlene) and her husband (Tommy). Lowell, as there is a lot to like about the city, is not that far from Methuen. So we met them for dinner.

Karen's aunt (Denise) jokes that Karlene and Tommy never cook dinner whenever we visit. And interestingly enough, they did not cook on Saturday. Instead, we opted to grab take out from a restaurant called Good Thymes. It just so happens that Good Thymes claims to have the best haddock in Lowell. Naturally, I had to put that claim to the test by ordering their haddock bella vista.

Let's just say, if Good Thymes has the best haddock in Lowell, then I think other cities may have better haddock. The haddock was ok. I would not say the meal was outstanding. But really, I wasn't expecting too much because Good Thymes seemed to me like a place where the majority of patrons are senior citizens.

Nevertheless, it was fun to just hang out and visit Karlene and Tommy. Among some of the topics of conversation that came up were the two-handed handshake (to which I am not a fan of), swinging, and Karlene and Tommy's new Keurig machine. For anyone curious, Karlene knows someone who may/may not be into swinging. Lowell... there's a lot to like about Lowell.

Aunt Denise and Uncle Paul also stopped by for a visit while we there as well. They recently came back from a trip to Disney. So it was good to see them while we were up there. All in all, it was a long day, but a fun time.

I Suck At The Library

Last night, I attended the monthly Board of Trustee meeting for the public library. Too bad I suck at the library.

I think being elected to the Board has ruined my fondness for the library. I used to enjoy going there as a patron. Now, I sometimes dread going to the library. I think the turtle-like pace of government with its rules and regulations is what frustrates me about being on the Board.

Of course, it also may be the fact that my opinion seems to count very little on the Board. To say I'm the most technically savvy member on the Board is an understatement considering my day job involves developing web applications and the rest of the Board is in public education. Yet somehow, my thoughts on the possible redesign of the library website had fallen on deaf ears because my perspective was considered too technical.

For anyone curious, I had suggested that the public library site be redesigned to be "responsive" to the device viewing the site. Thus, viewing the site on something like a mobile device would not be a pain for users (like it currently is). At the time of my suggestion, I was told that my perspective was too technical.

Interestingly enough, during the meeting last night, the topic of the site redesign came up. Lo and behold, someone mentioned that another library had a site for mobile devices. Shocker. Someone beat us to the punch.

Anyway, the meeting was status quo. The main highlight last night at the library, was not the Board meeting, but the actual surprise I received at the library. The library director had told me that someone had made a donation to the library in my son's (Braden) name. For anyone curious, Braden passed away four years ago. His birthday was near the beginning of the month.

As part of the donation, the following books were inscribed with dedication to Braden: "Garden of Dreams" by Richard Wainwright; "How do I love you?" by P.K. Hallinan; "If you give a moose a muffin", "If you give a pig a pancake", and "If you take a mouse to school" by Laura Joffe Numeroff.

The donation came from Karen's cousin (Karlene) and Karlene's husband (Tommy), who reside in the great white north known as Lowell. There apparently is a lot to like about Lowell. I was pleasantly surprised by the news and it meant a lot to me. So thank you, Karlene and Tommy. As an extra bonus, I got to be the first one to take the book out of the library.

Needless to say, the donation was very touching and it made my day. I had no idea that Karlene and Tommy even made the donation. Thank you again.

I Suck At Yard Sales

There's a lot to like about Lowell, or so Lowellians would have you believe. Today, Karen and I woke up our two year old daughter (Briana) and our six month old daughter (Bridget) early in the morning to head toward the big white north known as Lowell. On the agenda for the day: yard sale.

Now, I suck at yard sales. Luckily for me, Karen's cousin (Karlene) and Karlene's husband (Tommy) organized a yard sale for this morning. Joining in on the yard selling fun were a couple of their friends as well. So all in all, there were a lot of items being sold today at Karlene's yard sale.

I must say, I do find it interesting as to what sells and what does not sell at yard sales. I would think that the never-been-opened items would sell quicker than the slightly-used ones. Interestingly enough, that is not the case.

For me, the main things that I was looking to get rid of were my Dell keyboard (which was never used because I use another keyboard), a 300 piece poker chip set, and this awful tree face thing that I received in the family "ghetto" swap.

I was quite ecstatic to see the keyboard go. Interestingly enough, the tree face thing was sold. Hurray! And it turns out, no one in Lowell plays poker. Just kidding. Sadly, I was not able to sell the poker set (also from a joke swap). Two out of three isn't bad.

I think the most memorable sale for me occurred later in the day when a group of young girls came to peruse the stuff. One of them was quite excited about this Asian sun umbrella that I had received from a friend's wedding. Technically, Karen received the umbrella as it was given to all the women at the wedding, but it was my friend getting married.

Anyway, the girl wanting the umbrella insisted that I take more for what was charged since she thought it was worth so much more. Granted, the cost was not that much more. But still, it was a nice gesture on her part (so much so that it obviously sticks in my mind). These young whipper snappers... Just kidding.

Needless to say, to see how excited she was about this sun umbrella was really nice. The sun umbrella was going to have a new home where it would be cherished more and used more, and I liked the thought of that.

Needless to say, it was a good yard sale. It was probably better for Karlene and Tommy's friends as they got rid of a lot of their items. One of her friends got rid of her items early on as one buyer scooped up her stockpile of toys. It turns out that the buyer donates the toys by shipping them to kids in Portugal.

Anyway, following the yard sale, we celebrated our meager profits by going to where else: Kimball Farm in Westford. A trip to Lowell would not be complete without a trip to Kimball Farm for ice cream. Yummy! I had the apple crisp with pumpkin ice cream. Delicious! In my opinion, there is no better place for ice cream.

All in all, it was a great day. The kids were great too, which is always a plus. If anything, the only thing that detracted from today was the traffic on the ride home. We generally hit some form of traffic heading south whenever we head anywhere north. Today's ride home was just awful. I think it took almost one and half hours to get home. But like I said, all in all, it was fun today.

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 Merrimack

On Saturday, Karen and I celebrated my son's (Braden) birthday by taking my two year old daughter (Briana) and my six month old daughter (Bridget) out. Had my son survived, he would have been four.

Unfortunately, things did not go according to plan and Braden passed away. And as a result, we started taking our children out to honor his birthday around this time of year. Two years ago, it was Plymouth. Last year, it was Norwell's Picnic on the Common. This year, it was Merrimack.

Too bad I suck at Merrimack. On the agenda in Merrimack: the Anheuser-Busch factory. Sure, it seemed odd to take a two year old and a six month old to a brewery. Truth be told, we didn't go for the beer. We went for the clydesdales.

Briana was hesitant at first when she saw the horses. But after a while, she came to absolutely adore the majestic horses. We got to see the trainers give the clydesdales baths after their workout. And all Briana would say afterwards was how she got to watch them give the horses a bath. Needless to say, she loved it.

Of course, the fun was not done after the brewery. Right around the corner from the brewery is the Merrimack Premium Outlets, which is essentially the Wrentham Premium Outlets... only in Merrimack. The one major difference, aside from the food choices, is that Merrimack has a Disney outlet. Naturally, we bought a few things at the Disney store. Truth be told, I enjoyed the Merrimack outlets. It was our first time there and even though the place is smaller, I liked it more than Wrentham.

Anyway, the fun did not stop there. As we were in the great white north, we decided to stop by and visit my favorite cousin-in-law (Karlene) and her husband (Tommy) in Lowell. We hadn't seen them in some time. And as everyone knows, there is a lot to like about Lowell... or so they will have you believe.

Interestingly enough, I found out that Tommy was in the hospital for hurting his back. As a result, he can't do many activities like lifting. Hopefully, physical therapy will help him. And as I like to joke, it just goes to show that after the age of 40 the body breaks down. So I'll probably be doomed in a couple of years.

In addition to hanging out with Karlene and Tommy, we ended up at our favorite ice cream place, Kimball Farm. Kimball's was definitely a great way to end the day before driving home in the torrential downpour.

For some time, Karen has been wanting to try dinner at the Outdoor Grill and Seafood Shack located at Kimball Farm in Westford. Luckily, Saturday provided us the opportunity. Needless to say, the food was quite delicious. I had the fish and chips. And I must say, the fish was nicely breaded and cooked. It was not greasy at all. And it tasted really good.

And of course, we ordered ice cream afterwards. I had the apple crisp with pumpkin ice cream. Yum-O! Of course, I may have overeaten... but it was so worth it. Like I said, Kimball's was definitely a great way to end the day.

All in all, the day was long, but quite enjoyable. I had a great time and I think everyone else did too. Thank you, Little B. I hope you enjoyed watching over us. I love you forever and ever.

I Suck At Swimming

Today, Karen, my two year old daughter (Briana), my three month old daughter (Bridget), and I made the trek to the great white north known as Lowell. After all, there is a lot to like about Lowell (or so the Lowellians will have you believe). The plan for the day was to visit Karen's cousin (Karlene) and her husband (Tommy).

Since learning about the trip yesterday, Briana has been quite ecstatic. Every other word from Briana has been the word "swimming". Briana does not even know how to swim. The extent of her swimming is my holding her in the water and walking back and forth across the pool. So I guess you can say that I suck at swimming. Luckily for me, Karlene and Tommy happen to be great swimmers who own a pool which is quite handy after a few straight days of god awful heat. Needless to say, Briana was all about swimming in the pool today despite a particular mishap.

The mishap was reminiscent of my favorite sister-in-law's (Janine) visit to Karlene and Tommy's some time ago. Janine does not visit them too often, so it was definitely a long while ago.

During that time, my nephew (PJ) was pretty young and Janine had taken him into the pool. He wasn't a big fan of pools, probably because his father (PJ) is also not a big fan of swimming. To be honest, I don't even know if I could describe what happened. It all seemed like slow motion when PJ went under the water after being accidentally dropped by Janine. I think the oddest part was when after fishing PJ out of the water, everyone tried to pass off the incident as being intentional by clapping their hands and saying what a great job PJ did in going under the water. (To this day, I think PJ is still not a fan of swimming.)

It's only natural then, that Karen almost duplicate the task of her sister years later. Again, I'm not sure if I can describe it. I had Bridget in the pool. Karen was watching Briana in the pool, and by "watching" I mean she was standing next to her while being preoccupied with an insect in a bucket. Tommy was fiddling around with some swim goggles. I'm not sure what Karlene was doing. And then it happened. Briana went under the water. So much for watching Briana. In Karen's defense, she didn't drop Briana outright.

Interestingly enough, these incidents always seem to be in slow motion. Briana was actually pretty good though. She came out of the water just fine. In fact, she seemed unfazed by going under. Heck, she still loves swimming. If it were up to Briana, she would have stayed in the pool even when it rained and hailed in the late afternoon.

It was definitely an interesting visit to Karlene and Tommy's. One of the comical topics of discussion that came up was dining out with friends and how sometimes the amount does not always seem to add up correctly. You know who you are. Just kidding. As well, the discussion of changing the layout of their living room came up, and the life expectancy of couches. Apparently one of Karlene and Tommy's friends has a couch that is almost 20 years old. That couch has seen a lot of behinds.

All in all, it was a fun trip. I know Karlene has been waiting for a "Yum-O" review of her cooking, so I'll give her one. Karlene and Tommy were gracious enough to grill our lunches today, which was quite nice. The grilled chicken was delicious. So "yum-o"!

I Suck At Gath Greenery

Memorial Day weekend kicked off with the ever popular tradition of going to Gath Greenery located in Dunstable. This infamous tradition has been going on for well over four years, in part because the tradition involves Karen's Lowell-loving cousin (Karlene) and Karlene's husband (Tommy). There's a lot to like about Lowell, or so they would have you believe. Apparently, there's a lot to like about Dunstable too around Memorial Day.

Needless to say, I suck at Gath Greenery. Over the span of years surrounding this Memorial Day tradition, I have come to know the owner. He's a good guy. I, however, probably could not spend two hours chatting with him like Karen's illustrious cousin. And that was during her previous visit.

It was good to see him again and get my annual exposure to his greenery. Following plant-stock, we decided to grab lunch at Ruby Tuesday. Apparently, while in the great white north, the closest Ruby Tuesday was in Nashua, New Hampshire (Live Free or Die!). Karen was looking forward to dining there again after we had eaten in the Salem, New Hampshire location a few weeks prior during our double stroller incident. And as the great father that I am, I exposed my two year old daughter (Briana) to the yummy goodness known as a raspberry lemonade.

Anyway, it was definitely a good lunch. From there, we headed back to Karlene and Tommy's for some merriment, also known as the swimming pool. It goes without saying that Briana absolutely loves the pool. She did not want to get out of the pool, which is probably common for most kids.

While we were kicking back by the pool, Karen's aunt (Denise) and uncle (Paul) stopped by, as did Karen's other cousin (Matthew). One of the topics of conversation that came up during that time was Matthew's new job. He apparently started his own company that day, albeit without an actual name for the company. Hopefully his business will work out.

Other things that were somewhat comical, were Denise and Paul's reaction to our dining choices for the night. Apparently, they are not big fans of vegetable products made to look like meat. All in all, it was an enjoyable day and nice way to kick off the Memorial Day weekend.

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 Earth Day

Sunday was Earth Day. Happy belated Earth Day! Thank you Gaylord Nelson for being credited with creating Earth Day back in 1970.

And in honor of mother Earth, I did what any enviro-nut would do. I drove all around the South Shore hitting up all the places giving away free reusable tote bags for Earth Day. Okay, so maybe I didn't drive all around the South Shore. I just went to Target and the Disney Store. And might I add, I'm a little disappointed by the Disney Store's bag, if only because it blatantly advertised its upcoming movie about a chimpanzee and not Earth Day. But hey, it was free so I can't complain.

If that were not a sign that I suck at Earth Day, Karen and I drove around even further... to the mean streets of Lowell. Now why Lowell? There's a lot to like about Lowell, or so the Lowellians would have you believe. Truth be told, we actually met up with Karen's cousin (Karlene) and her husband (Tommy).

It was good to see Karlene and Tommy... and the city of Lowell. In honor of Earth Day, Lowell held an event involving Radio Disney. I snagged a Winnie the Pooh mask for my two year old daughter (Briana). We actually did not stay long because it was absolutely pouring out and the event was outside.

But we weren't going to let a little rain dampen our day. After a brief pit stop for lunch at Chili's, we eventually ended up in ice cream heaven: Kimball's (in Westford). Well, I should say Tommy and I ended up in ice cream heaven because we went to Kimball's and brought the ice cream back for everyone else.

By the time Tommy and I returned, Karen's aunt (Denise) and uncle (Paul) had arrived. Kimball's! Yum! It was fun seeing Karen's aunt and uncle. I like to joke around with them, particularly Denise because it's just so hard not to. For instance, Denise mentioned that her mother did not like Paul at first. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you see it, I was privy to seeing a picture of Denise and Paul in their younger days. Let's just say Paul had a lot of hair. So naturally, I inquired if the reason her mother did not like Paul at first was because of his 'fro. Absurd? Absolutely. But fun nonetheless.

Anyway, even though the day poured, it was fun hanging out with Karlene and Tommy, and Aunt Denise and Uncle Paul. And of course, Kimball's! Among the other things that came up during the excursion up North were Tommy's place of employment and coconuts. Tommy happens to be a teacher and while we were out and about, we happened to drive past the school that he teaches at. I must say, the school is huge, or at least it looks that way. Hmm... I wonder if the Lowell public schools prepared their students for life. Just kidding. That was a reference to my friend (Sam).

As for the coconut, apparently Tommy bought an actual coconut because Karlene wanted some for a recipe. Turns out, she didn't want an actual coconut per se, but the shavings inside. Needless to say, it was interesting to watch Karen, Karlene, and Tommy try to crack open the coconut. The YouTube videos about opening a coconut make it look so easy. Tommy eventually was able to open the coconut with a hammer, but it took a while.

Like I said, it was a good time. Yay Earth Day!

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 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.

I Suck At Munchkins

Yesterday, my friend (Jen) came by for a visit. It was pretty exciting because it was the first time she drove to our place by herself. Jen recently received her driver's license. As with any new driver, she was a little concerned with traffic and the potential for an accident. So she decided to come Sunday morning where traffic would be at a minimum.

Anyway, it was good to see Jen. She has been a little busy of late with some personal matters. Overall though, she seems to be handling things well. My twenty three month old daughter (Briana) was apparently excited to see Jen as well. After all, Sunday was the first time my daughter was exposed to munchkins from Dunkin Donuts thanks to Jen. Yes, I suck at munchkins.

Briana seems to enjoy munchkins almost as much as her mother does. She devoured them like they were nothing. And for quite some time thereafter, Briana has been mentioning Jen's name.

Shortly after, Karen's cousin (Karlene) and Karlene's husband (Tommy) from the city known to some as the All-American city of Lowell stopped on by. For anyone curious, Lowell received the title of All-American city in 1999 (and in 1971) from the National Civic League. Who knew a league of enthusiastic Honda drivers existed. Just kidding.

Anyway, Karlene and Tommy were gracious enough to bring lunch on Sunday. As always, it was a welcomed relief not having to worry about what to make for a meal with very little time these days. So thank you Karlene and Tommy! For anyone curious, they made soup and chicken salad wraps. Yum!

Karen and I naturally thanked them by asking Karlene and Tommy to be the godparents of our latest newborn (Bridget) to which they immediately accepted. I must say though, that will be tough to outdo the next time someone brings us a meal. How do you top being asked to be a godparent? Just kidding. It was definitely nice to know that Karlene and Tommy were willing to be a part of Bridget's life.

Among the topics of discussion that came up during lunch were making homemade soup, Facebook, her eight month nephew who is now walking, and Alcatraz. And shortly after lunch, my favorite sister-in-law (Janine) and my niece (Kaleigh) stopped by following a shopping excursion for a first communion dress. It was quite the busy day at our house, that's for sure.

So as to not leave out my nephew (PJ) and Karen's brother-in-law (PJ) out, Karen and I decided to bring the family to Janine and PJ's after dinner. It was the first time the entire family (consisting of Karen, Briana, Bridget and myself) went somewhere together since Bridget was born almost two weeks ago. And needless to say, it was a great time at Janine and PJ's. It seems like PJ and Karen are trying to get Janine more involved with couponing now. We'll see how that goes.

I Suck At The Mall At Chestnut Hill

This past Saturday, Karen, my twenty two month old daughter (Briana), and I had plans with Karen's Lowell-loving cousin (Karlene) and Karlene's husband (Tommy). After all, there is a lot to love about Lowell... or so they will have you believe.

Instead of actually having us drive all the way to Lowell, or vice versa for Karlene and Tommy to drive all the way to Norwell, Karen threw out the idea of meeting somewhere halfway in between. Apparently, the neutral ground of Switzerland was the city of Needham.

So for lunch, we met Karlene and Tommy at Acapulcos for some mexican food. As a side note, it turns out that the Mighty Subs located across the street from Acapulcos is highly recommended as well. I will have to remember that for the next time, except that Mighty Subs is not open on the weekends... or open after 4pm during the week.

Anyway, lunch was good. For anyone curious, I had the Asado burrito. Yum. It was good to see Karlene and Tommy. While thinking of ways to become a millionaire over lunch, I got to hear about Karlene's app idea. It was an interesting idea. I wonder if her idea already exists though. As well, I learned that Karlene and Tommy are currently into the show, "Alcatraz". I'll admit, it's a good show... and not just because there is a blonde in it.

Following lunch, we decided to see what was around the might city of Needham. Turns out... not much. We took a brief tour around the T. J. Maxx, which was in nearby Newton. It was the first time I heard Briana mention the word "run", and she actually ran... all throughout the store. I guess she wanted to get the max for the minimum. On the way to the store, I did get a kick out of Tommy's reaction to our heated car seat. He was a little surprised by the heat on his backside, which I can imagine would be cause for alarm.

As we explored around, we decided to go to the Mall at Chestnut Hill, also located in Newton. Now, I suck at the Mall at Chestnut Hill. I have never been there. And after Saturday's visit, I understand why. It's not that the mall is terrible or anything. The mall is very nice. There just aren't any stores at that mall that would entice me to go there. As a side note, there did not seem to be many young whipper snappers there at all either. It was peculiar.

All in all, it was good to spend the day with Karlene and Tommy. Briana equally enjoyed it as well, in part because she got to meet the celebrity from her "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" book by Bill Martin, Jr. Within the book, there is a picture of a teacher, whom I tell Briana is Karlene. And of course, ever since Saturday, Briana has been asking to call Tommy on the phone too.

I Suck At New Year's Eve

Today is the day Karen's cousin (Karlene) from Lowell ruined New Year's Eve. And they claim there is a lot to love about Lowell. I'm just kidding. I like to give Karlene a hard time. Essentially for the past decade or so, a tradition has been created between Karen, Karlene, Karlene's husband (Tommy) and I as we celebrate New Year's Eve.

That tradition was interrupted this year when Karlene made the executive decision to cancel our plans today. In all fairness, Tommy was sick. So it only made sense to cancel plans. Hopefully, Tommy is okay and does not have the virus that Karen has. Karen has been sick for what seems like forever (over three weeks). Get better, Tommy!

With the cancellation in plans this year, Karen and I had nothing to do on New Year's Eve. I guess you can say that I suck at New Year's Eve. My first reaction of course, aside from the "I hope Tommy feels better" thought, was to contact my BFF (Kerry). After all, for what seems like a decade, Kerry and my friend (Jen) have always hinted at wanting to spend New Year's Eve with us. And with the cancellation, today was the chance.

Luckily for me, Kerry happened to be around today. Having spent last night at my friend's (Marc and Kelley), she ended up going to Stars in Hingham for breakfast and Red Robin in Plymouth for lunch with her family. After her family fun, she was able to stop by and hang out.

Needless to say, I had a great time hanging out with Kerry. One thing that I will remember from today is my twenty one month old daughter (Briana) playing with Kerry. Briana, while playing with Kerry, purposely tossed her Winnie the Pooh taggy blanket up, over, and behind our new couch. So when Kerry went reaching over the back of the couch to grab the taggy blanket, Briana immediately started tickling both of Kerry's feet. I found that rather comical.

I'll probably remember that for a while, much like how I will remember the time Briana went to give my friend (Joanna) a hug only to slyly reach in and grab Joanna's iPhone from within her pocket. That little sneaky pickpocket.

Incidentally, Kerry was not the only person to visit us on New Year's Eve. My favorite sister-in-law (Janine) and her BFF (Gretchen) also stopped on over. Apparently, they had some time to kill as they waited for their Chinese food order for their New Year's Eve dinner. Sadly, I did not get to hang out with Janine and Gretchen that much. In terms of timing, I was in the process of making dinner for Briana when they came on by. It was probably just as well since I would have been the only guy in the room.

As it turns out, Gretchen will not partake in my dastardly plans to play a practical joke on Kerry the next time Kerry leaves her clothes outside of her mother's place. Gretchen told Kerry that she would not take her clothes. The good news, however, is that she did not mention anything about not letting me into the condo. So theoretically, I could still take the clothes myself. For anyone curious, Gretchen lives in the same condo complex as Kerry's mom, which is where the connection is.

Anyway, it was definitely a fun and interesting day today. It was great hanging out with Kerry. I feel like I don't do that as much as I'd like to. Although if I do see her more next year, it may involve seeing her eat beans. We'll see. And it was good to see Janine and Gretchen too. Janine is usually busy a lot with her own family stuff. So it's nice when I do get to see her.

All in all, it has been fun today. In case anyone is curious, I am DVRing the infamous ball dropping countdown for when we do eventually see Karlene and Tommy. It'll be like we were still having our "tradition"... just days and days later.

Regardless, have a happy new year everyone! May the new year bring good fortune to the new hopes, dreams, and aspirations of everyone.