I want to go to summer camp !!

Where did July Go? Can anyone tell me?

Well, I am precisely 1 hour and 20 minutes from August 1, 2007. Wow.. Don't know where July went. July seems to be the fastest month of the year. In July we have the longest days of the year; but, they fly faster than my three year old son when he needs the potty. If you don't think that is very fast, well you've forgotten what it like to have a little Nino newly potty trained. He is doing wonderful with it and he'll be ready for pre-school in September. Cough..cough..did I say pre-school. I can hardly believe it myself. Yes...and people ask me, "so what are you going to do all by yourself when all three children are in school." Well....I can find some things. Don't you all worry about that. It's only two days a week for a few hours in the Morning anyway. BUT ((shopping)) without any children is going to be nice for a change. Maybe an on-line course or two. Yes, it's time for Jen to grow too. Miss Brianna will be going to school in September. Kindergarten is so exciting, and to be in her best friend's class... Brianna is so happy. She is about packed and ready to go anyday. She wants to wait for the bus all on her own. Mom will about cry when that day comes. Nicholas is having fun this summer. He decided he didn't want to attend summer camp this year. He wanted to be home with his Mom and that is okay. His sister is going to soccer camp in his place, and it's working out wonderfully. I can see us now in just a few years trying to juggle all the sports for all three kids. Hey now...let's not talk about September quite yet. There is yet another month before we go back to the fun days of school. Oh yes, August. Welcome August..we know you will go by just as quickly as you arrived.

Bree is so happy!

This is for Allison. This was Bree's reaction to finding out that she will be in the same class as her friend. It sure brightened her day!

For those wondering why choose the road less traveled....

The Road Less Traveled
by Kit McCallum
How often we must bear the challenges of life;
The endless roller coaster between happiness and sorrow;
The constant ups and downs of daily strife.
And always the question remains .... why?

Life is not an easy road for most;
It twists and turns with many forks in the road,
Although always, and inevitably, we are given a choice ...

Do we turn to the right ... or the left?
Do we take the high road ... or the low road?
Do we take the easy path ... or the difficult one?

Decisions are not easy for those struggling for direction ...
And sometimes the many choices and signs become overwhelming.

While standing at a crossroads in life,
The urge is to take the most comfortable path;
The road with least resistance ...
The shortest or most traveled route.

And yet, if we've been down that comfortable road before;
Have gleaned its lessons in life, and learned from our experiences;

Do we yet again follow the known?
Or does our destiny lie in another direction?

The fear of the road less traveled is tangible and all too real;
It manifests itself in many ways,
And tends to cloud the issues that might otherwise be clear.

It is in these times of confusion,
That we must seek peace and solitude;

Time to contemplate on our life,
Our experiences and our choices past;
Time to look back, and reflect on what we have learned
Without fear or confusion.

For only each of us knows our own personal thoughts;
Our unique past and personal history;
The experiences that brought us to the crossroads we now face.

We can always learn a small degree from others experiences,
And yet ... no one person can walk in our shoes,
Others know not, the trials and tribulations faced in private ...

For each is individual ... unique ... and personal.

And that is why ... while standing at a crossroads,
Only "we" can formulate the decision for ourselves;
The true direction that lies within;
The choices we must deliberate on with clarity and wisdom.

For it is only through personal reflection,
That we can now choose our destiny;
... Our next adventure;
... And the future we will embrace.

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My next adventure - to do something greater than myself, to experience life outside of what I know. To come home a better person, enriched...more appreciative of what I have.

A really really cute e-mail sent to me

Slow down for three minutes to read this. It is so worth it.
Touching words from the mouth of babes.
What does Love mean?
A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, "What does love mean?"
The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:
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"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore.
So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love."

Rebecca- age 8

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"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different.
You just know that your name is safe in their mouth."

Billy - age 4

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"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other."

Karl - age 5

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"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs."


Chrissy - age 6

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"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired."

Terri - age 4

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"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK."

Danny - age 7

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"Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more.
My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss"

Emily - age 8

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"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen."

Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

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"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,"

Nikka - age 6

(we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)

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"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday."

Noelle - age 7

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"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well."

Tommy - age 6


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"During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling.
He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore."

Cindy - age 8


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"My mommy loves me more than anybody
You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night."

Clare - age 6

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"Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken."

Elaine-age 5

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"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford."

Chris - age 7

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"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day."

Mary Ann - age 4

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"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones."

Lauren - age 4

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"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you." (what an image)

Karen - age 7

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"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross."

Mark - age 6

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"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget."

Jessica - age 8

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And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge.

The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child.

The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.

Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.

When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said,

"Nothing, I just helped him cry"

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Father, God bless all my friends in whatever it is that You know they may be needing this day! And may their life be full of your peace, prosperity and power as he/she seeks to have a closer relationship with
you. Amen.

Red Ants are Nasty

So, Stacy, Liam and I are settling into our new home in Oviedo, FL. Also included is the shot of our moving van. Stacy, Elijah, a random NYC nice person, and I did the initial packing. Then I drove it to Montrose, PA where I picked up our Denver overflow from my dad's basement. Maria, Paul and I did the final packing. Dad, Osa and I drove from Montrose to Oviedo. Southerners are scary. The further south you go, the scarier they get. They deep fry anything, even peanuts.

We are really happy with our home. There is a lot of work to do, but it will all be worth it. I just got done mowing a lawn for the 1st time in 4 years! I also had to change all the registers and the AC filter. It was black as tar. The previous owner did everything half-arse, and I have to redo most of it. Ahhhh projects!

There are a couple job prospects in the works. I actually turned one down. Having a family changes everything.. The fam out by the pool.


I hope everyone in CNY is well. Tell Adam that the trick to making the phone work is to pick it up 1st, THEN hit the numbers. :)

Love,
~Swish

PS: here's a photo Nicky will like..

My Biggest Nightmare at the Gym

Even funnier when Jake is sitting on my lap laughing his butt off!!

Michael Buble "Home"

Pics from our vacation to the 1000 Islands USA/Canada

www.flickr.com More of parkspics' photos

Just Imagine

What a day, what a day....

Long Day Over by Norah Jones

Feeling tired
By the fire
The long day is over

The wind is gone
Asleep at dawn
The embers burn on

With no reprise
The sun will rise
The long day is over


*Sigh*

Summer Trip

We are headed to the 1000 Islands this week and this is a little look at what we are going to expect. I found this web site a must see:

http://www.1000islandsphotoart.com/

The photography is wonderful! Below is a video of the Photographer Ian Coristine at work:

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the Yyyyankeees win!

Stacy, Liam and I recently attended our 1st Yankee together. This is all part of the master plan to ensure Liam always self-identifies as a Yankee. The master plan also includes being born at NY-Presbyterian and Liam's Syracuse Orange mascot mobile.

We had a great time at the game. The topic of the day was our seats, which were fully covered. So, the 1:05 blazing sun and 3:05 rain delay had no effect on us.

The Yankees game was precipitated by a visit from my good friends from back home, the Lunds. The Lunds are shown to the right enjoying "real" NYC bagels from our local Jewish bakery - Gideons. Their 18 month old, William received a free cookie from the woner. The Lunds were also thrilled to enjoy realy bagels, real sushi, a real subway experience, and real baseball on their visit to the big apple.

Besides this wonderful father's day weekend, I had a couple promising job interviews this week. So, things should be back on track real soon.

A friend showed me this video last night and it made me cry-TY michele, Love ya girl!

On only a couple hours of sleep, we managed to hit the Falls

Healthy Ramblin...What it's Like When You are High on Chocolate Covered Expresso Beans.

1500 Miles or 28 hours
by neverenoughtime and her Bro


Passing through Chicago with my Brother by my side
going crazy, driving, driving
Route 80, what a drag it is getting old
Rollingstones...........
I wish he'd stop singing
stop...stop...
going crazy

I wouldn't want to be anywhere else
high water...what did that sign say??
Pass me that Bible
and throw away the doobie

There's my Jeep!
It's black, black as night
Take that hardtop off
Let the wind go through your hair
Hey it passed the Hemi??

Going to the Port of Indiana
Sailing on the black sea
thump, thump, thump

Trivia.......
"Well, I've got nipples, can you milk me?"
Ben Stiller is your clue

We waved at some Sassiekitty
sailing first West then East
Who makes a grown man cry
and some man who can't get no satisfaction...

I wanna be your knight in shining armor
and come to your emotional rescue
I've been walkin in Central Park
Signing after dark
People think I'm Krazyyyy.......

Nothin on my feet
shufflin through the street
asking people...tic..tic..tic..
what's the matter with you boy?

If I could stick my hand in my heart
and spill it out all over the stage
would it satisfy
BUT I guess, I'm lying to myself
cause I just won't get you child

Sanity...Sanity...SanityInn Wind
I missed you Friday Night
So instead, I guess we'll just sing
Wooooooo Black Betty Bamalamb
Betty had a child
and that child was wild
Sweet Child of Mine

So I had to get my Gun
and lay my black roses
on my son

Is this fantasy or is this reality
Look into my eyes and see
that noone knows what it's like to
be a sad woman..to be a bad woman
behind blue eyes

To telling lonely lies
But my dreams, they aren't as empty as my conscience
seems to be

Mile marker 51
Ground Control to Major Tom
You're just sittin on a sack of seeds
waving down all the weeds
Pass the Bong, and sing a song so I may get back some
Insanity....

We passed a burning truck today
we hope that the driver got away
but if he didn't
then we pray that he went quickly on his way

But on that stairway to heaven
you can't bring along
Mr. Saturday Night Special
that's got a barrell that's blue and gold
cause it's good for nothin
cept put a man six feet in the hole

Ashhhh-hole
Still pondering the answer?
maybe you ought to "Meet the Fockers."

And while you are there
you might notice
the light in the window
in the crack in the sky
so look out Chicken Little
cause the sky is really fallin

Your Mama told you....
you're not supposed to talk to strangers
Look in the mirror
You tell me...do you think your life's in danger?
No more tears
for fears

Cause all of the seasons
and all of the days
are all of the reasons
that I feel this way for you it's true

Healthy Ramblins
to try to stay awake
so sell your kids for food
weather changes moods
Little Will likes all our pretty songs
and he likes to sing along
and he likes to shoot his gun
but he don't know what it means
cause it's just nothing but healthy ramblins

She didn't know
that just because
a silly sign
that said..Notre Dame
in Indiana really isn't the
Notre Dame she thinks it is -ha ha

So what else is there to see
said the sign
so....Simon said
Big Wheels Keep on Turnin
Carry me to my kin
so just turn it up
and take notice

Hey, Mr. Trucker
Mr. Trucker Man
Emergency stopping only
and fines are doubled
in Construction Zones

Ergo, you might be Mishawaka home
Get it??
Yeah..Get it??
Yeah, but not enough....

What a drag...we're only
a half a tank away from
Iowa with four tanks and a half to go

Ohhhhh..He had to say this
Hopefully it's just good mileage
with the wind on our backs
and a whole world yet to go.

So....take notice
it's Bitter Sweet Road
No...really Rd.

Wooooo, what happened
did we get sucked into space??
Now I know why they call them Reststops
But, aren't we supposed to feel rested?

Cleo..Princess Cleo
You're such a good dog
Sheppard and a Basanji
One who obeys and the other whom does not
Open that window
there is a haze of dog hair

She got a ticket to ride
but she don't care
Ma Baby don't care

Lake Erie
How erie it was to approach you in the dark of night
now the sun is shinin
and you're so cleary
not the water, but the sky...Lake Erie

He was a boogy woogy bugle boy
a Company Bee
Oh no no no
I DON'T THINK SO

three hours until home
my did we roam
Congratulations Jeffrow
You did it, and we are proud
What happened to that two year old boy?
You've become such a mature young man
Don't get caught up in the present
strive to achieve your dreams

and remember...we are always here for you
don't forget your family
We Love You!