Stella 10 2011

Stella's Birthday

It's Wednesday night on the way to the hospital, Sarah and I going to complete the incredible. Bringing a new life into this world, and oh what a journey for our baby girl...

Starts off with some cramping discomfort and pain, followed by contractions that would hardly refrain. On through the night the medicine is little use, Sarah continues to fight while enduring the bodily abuse. Early in the AM time to check the dilatation, 5 cms! thank goodness a little half-way celebration. Would you like an epidural? The nurse then inquired, THANK GOD YES! is what Sarah required. So in goes the needle about 4 inches long, and goodbye to the pain that was feeling so strong. But wait oh no babies heart beat was slowing, a C-Sections possibility now did begin growing. With the doctors advice we waited to see, if the babies heart and the medication would agree. After some time things went back to normal, and we were on our way to a birth that is formal. After many hours she was coming out her bush, breathing and squeezing 1-2-3 PUSH! Out comes her head we're almost done now, followed by her body all I think is.....wow. Stella Rose is born it's 5:54, 6 pounds 12 ounces its over no more. Sarah her mother and I her father, on September 8th 2011 we couldn't be prouder.

Happy Birthday Stella, you're beautiful

Thank you to everyone, family and friends for all your love and support. We are blessed to have you all in our lives.

Veronica's Birthday

Veronica is now 12. As a special treat, we went to the big city of Montreal and went to the inaugral concert of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra at their new home. This as of yet unnamed hall was sold to everyone in Quebec as the perfect place to hear a concert. It is! The construction is much like the Musikverein where (a-hem, a-hem), Claire and I saw a concert. It is a rectangle and there is not a bad seat in the house and is designed for unamplified music. Actually it is a rectange built into a bigger rectangle. I don't know the science. I just know that it works. As you can see, when you are waiting in the outer area, before they open the concert hall doors, you do have a beautiful view of the city skyline -- and a beautiful view of Veronica.










Here is the hall about 20 minutes before the concert began. It was sold out so imagine the place fully packed. Usually, Veronica and I have better seats. But, due to he way the house is set up, we had a great view of the stage, the acoustics were great, and so was the music.














Watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kVRBJ0gPRg&feature=fvst



Now, this is the ending of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Music experts, music non-experts and everyone in between will concede that once you see this ending live, you think that you are going to burst. I have had the great fortune over the last 20 years of taking all my family members at one time or another to see Beethoven's 9th. With the exception of 2 of them, everyone has almost leapt off the seat at the conclusion. On Veronica's birthday, when I looked over at her at the conclusion she was fast asleep. The last time that happened was when Claire was a little one. I looked over and Claire was asleep...

People who say they sleep like a baby usually don't have one. ~Leo J. Burke

Tomorrow, Leo Joseph is three months old!

I have struck a city - a real city - and they call it Chicago... I urgently desire never to see it again. It is inhabited by savages. Rudyard Kipling

Well, actually the savages invaded Chicago!

The first day in Chicago meant that we were to be greeted at the airport. When we arrived, Theresa was promply on the phone and told us that she would be right there at curbside to pick us up. There were five us us, and Theresa pulled up in her sedan and confused us by asking if that was all the luggage that we had with us. We said that it was - one bag per person, right? Kathleen assured Theresa that even though it was a sedan, Mag could sit on a lap and off we could go. Theresa looked somewhat chagrined as Al swooped in the standing lane with another sedan. MORE than enough room. Theresa looked a bit embarassed, for at that moment up pulled Colyn in a van! It was looking like each of us would get a private ride to the Flynn residence!

This was just the start of a lot of great generosity coming from the Flynns.

"Oak Park: One Tree -- Many Nuts."

“Don't grow up too quickly, lest you forget how much you love the beach.” - Michelle Held

As the Stock Market was going up 500 here and down 400 there all week, we decided to hit the waves on Lake Michigan near New Buffalo. The New Buffalo area where Paul and Chris Flynn rented a great house right near a great beach, was our Tuesday escape from everything. Paul, Chris, Theresa, Al and Colyn invited us to swim, swim, swim. It was a great day because the sun was beatiful, the water was warm and the waves were wild!

Here a Mag, There a Mag, Everywhere a Mag Mag!

We planted some Mags this year and had a great crop!

Fresh cut grass, dragged dirt, ring of a bat, a diving catch, a blocked ball, sweating, bleeding, diving into home. Not a bad way to spend a day!

So says Veronica. She and her S&S Sanitation Team -- yes, it's coming -- cleaned up this season which is coming to a close.

With Coach Corey King at the helm, the King and his princesses have amassed quite a record. Veronica is now known as "The Fox". Last night, after a tipped hit that landed -- fair --the catcher for the other team picked the ball right up and stood next to home plate. Veronica, undaunted, quietly snuck from third to home plate for the score, a confused catcher waking up only when V's foot was on the bag!

These two movie stars were spotted in Rome during the Beatification Week of Pope John Paul II.

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” - Aristotle

Thank me later. This is how Kathleen and I raise our kids. Its who we are. All you others should take notes.

The Illinois Department of Agriculture has a page on the web,
http://www.agr.state.il.us/programs/consumer/egg/eggconsguide.html that guides citizens in Illinois about the usage of eggs. It gives a lot of helpful hints:

"What should I do if I think a store is mishandling eggs?
People who suspect an Illinois grocery store or other egg outlet is not upholding the law should talk to the facility manager. If the problem persists, they should call the Illinois Department of Agriculture at 1.800.582.0468, TDD 217.524.6858, FAX 217.524.7801. "

And:
"Storage Tips:Leave eggs in their original carton to help prevent them from drying out.
Store eggs at 41 degrees with the small end of the shell pointed down in the carton.
Keep eggs away from foods with strong odors, such as onions and garlic, which can affect their flavor. Do not store eggs for an extended period of time."

There are no penalties for going against an individual "mishandling eggs" in Illinois. However, Cindy and Kathleen and Mom were astonished to find that Theresa has turned eccentric at an early age. While unpacking at the hotel, Theresa pulled out of her suitcase eggs, because she wanted to make cookies on her recent visit to Buffalo.

There is no question in my mind that Theresa's storage of eggs did not take place in the original carton, nor at 41 degrees. But more to the point, all found it striking that Theresa has such disdain for eggs from Western New York! Frankly, most of us throughout the country feel that Illinois has a "Bad Egg" problem!

I always thought eggs were eggs. But Theresa swears by Illinois-produced-sold-and-bought eggs, so much so, that she placed some in her suitcase flew them to Chicago and brought with her Illinois-purchased Brown Sugar.

These two beautiful girls have always reminded me of each other, though the older she gets the more she looks like herself. But one thing I do recall without fail is that when Kathleen was younger, I never saw her with a pair of socks that did not have a hole in the toes. Her toenails were razor sharp. Without exageration, some times her toe nail would slice right through the top of her sneakers. It is a family trait:

Kathleen, Veronica and Magdalene all came back refreshed and happy to have seen everyone, but the premise behind the whole extended weekend was for the girls to get together.

God's Sense of Humor

This is what we woke up to this morning. 5:30 a.m. call that school was cancelled. "Yay! Hooray!" But it was up and at 'em this morning as they don't close down the law office. Here is what Luke came upon when he got to the office, having left his car there all weekend.







This is the time of year when one snowfall can mentally push us over the edge. Though the sun is staying up longer, it still is a challenge to smile through a snowstorm like this, unless you are Veronica and Mag who were out this morning enjoying all the fun that big snow brings.




















I also spent some time at the Pre-Cana program. I do a class on finances for engaged couples and this time around, (Kathleen and I with four other couples do about 2 to 3 of these per year), there were about 20 couples including Maureen's friend Jessica.






One of the fellows who was there was a real nice fellow, but I wish he would have dressed a bit differently. After all, this is Pre-Cana, isn't it?





































By the way, if it is lousy out as far as the weather is concerned, find a Veronica and cuddle up with her, because it makes the day go so much nicer:

The Cardinal

Kathleen loves Cardinals. You have to turn the volume way up, but after I dropped the kids off at school, I had my camera and was lucky enough to get a shot of this guy singing. To hear it you have to turn the volume WAY UP.

Mag and I went for a trip to Montreal. We had a wonderful meal, (at Baton Rouge), where our littlest one ate a whole rack of ribs and devoured everything else put in front of her. We then toured the new Place des Arts which was pretty impressive.

The show we were going to see had just been played at Carnegie Hall. So, some explanation is in order. Brad Meldhau is a jazz pianist. Anne Sophie von Otter is a Swede who sings opera but does some cross-over music.

Mag loves going to Montreal and will probably be a big-city chick.

Kathleen and I also headed up to Montreal the next night to see a favorite, Stephen Hough. What we saw was piano at its best by a player who is at the top of his profession. Though it was not recorded that evening, this is the finale as performed by Hough in England's Proms Festival a couple of years ago.

Colyn left quite the impression on the ladies of the household.

Quite the ladies' man.

Curb to curb!

A little souvenir from Montreal.  Can't let that head get cold when you're snow blowing the neighborhood.

“Virtue is not hereditary.” -- John Adams

Well, maybe it is... As Claire would say, we had a whackadoo week, all fun. Just Before the Buffalo Sabres decided to drop three games straight in Buffalo, Veronica and I had a chance to see them kick butt in Montreal at the Bell Center. At left, Veronica takes in the Canadian National Anthem. "O Canada" is the national anthem of Canada. The song was originally commissioned by Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Théodore Robitaille for the 1880 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony; Calixa Lavallée wrote the music as a setting of a French Canadian patriotic poem composed by poet and judge Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier. The lyrics were originally in French and translated into English in 1906. For some reason even though we were in the heart of French-speaking Canada, they sang the lyrics in English. In case you don't know they are quite interesting. "O Canada! Our home and native land! True patriot love in all thy sons command. With glowing hearts we see thee rise, The True North strong and free! From far and wide, O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. God keep our land glorious and free! O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. "We were treated to a great show! Veronica had never been to a game before, and when I brought her in to the Bell Center it reminded me of the thrill of being at a professional sports event. 20,000 or so people were packed into the Bell Center and we were the only 2 rooting for the Sabres.
Then, we had visitors. Claire brought the most charming people with her to celebrate President's Day!
Colyn and Lauren flew in on the magic carpet provided by Claire. Lauren goes to school with Claire and they are both in the nursing program at D'Youville. Lauren also had the distinction of playing both Jasmine and Pocahantas at Disney in Florida. Her stories about them are great. She instructed us that Pocahantas and Jasmine have trouble with just two classes of people at Disney: 11 year old boys and drunk middle-aged men. Other than that, everyone is fine. Of course, I think everyone has trouble with just those two classes of people.

We went to the festival of Lights in Montreal. We also walked throughout old Montreal and visited Notre Dame Basillica. If you have not yet been, go! Our family has seen several concerts and celebrated Mass there as well, and I cannot think of any other place quite as beautiful. Kathleen and I have a soft spot in our hearts for the place!

It was all about birthdays as we celebrated President's Birthdays and C&C's birthdays. If youdo see Claire, ask her how the juicer works!

You Want To Hurt Me?

Snow in Malone

This is how to tackle a snowy Saturday.

Bleak House

"The one great principle of the English law is, to make business for itself. There is no other principle distinctly, certainly, and consistently maintained through all its narrow turnings." Charles Dickens, from Bleak House. Kathleen and I watched "Bleak House", a fifteen part serialization of Dicken's classic. In our house, we are Dickens Addicts and thank goodness that we are not alone. I think that Masterpiece Theatre and Hollywood have such reverence for Dickens that it is hard to think of a bad adaptation of any of his works. A lot of that has to do, of course, with the fact that there is no such thing as a bad Dickens' story. But Kathleen and I came upon a 2005 version, done for Masterpiece Theatre, of Bleak House. It was one of the best adaptations of any novel that I have ever seen. Here's a taste of it. Spoiler Alert: If you haven't read the book or seen the movie, this gives some important endings away.
The cast was just great. We watched it on Netflix.

No Ordinary Explosion

The filamenthad been seen hovering over the Sun's surface for over a week before it erupted earlier this month. The movie was by the Earth-orbiting Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) in one color of ultraviolet helium, and another color of X-ray light specifically emitted by iron. The explosion created Coronal Mass Ejections which dispersed high energy plasma into the Solar System. This plasma cloud, though, missed the Earth and so did not cause auroras. The above eruption and an unusually expansive eruption that occurred in August are showing how widely separated areas of the Sun can sometimes act in unison. Explosions like this will likely become more common over the next few years as our Sun moves toward Solar Maximum activity.