Umma's World

Our Family Circus

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 03:31:00 +0000

Umma's World ended on a high note with a happy post and I'm glad about that. And since Jayden now refers to me as 'Grandma' almost as much as he calls me 'Umma', and since Mia calls me 'Grandma', and I have no idea what Sophie, Eòghan, or 'Baby Ray' will be calling me, I thought it was time to retire Umma's World. Also I've read that starting a new blog could solve some of the blogger problems I've been having. I hope that's true.

So if any of you are interested in following the antics of my family you can find us here at Our Family Circus.

Home Sweet Home

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 01:40:00 +0000

Finally Eóghan is home where he belongs! And it feels so good!

"Hey! What's going on? Who's the new kid?!"

Brotherly Love

And this is my niece, Erin:

Katie asked Erin to be Godmother to Eóghan, and Erin is the one who favored the Gaelic spelling of Eóghan (instead of spelling it as Owen). She also told us that he was going to be born on September 24 ~ and he was! I think these two have a special connection.

I probably won't be posting for awhile, and when I do it will be on a new blog. I'll be back to give you the address soon. In the meantime I will visit as often as I can.

Thanking you all for all your kindness, your support, and your prayers. I am so grateful.
Love,
Eileen

Let There Be Light

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 23:11:00 +0000

Ray went to the hospital to visit our little man after work today because unfortunately Eóghan still isn't able to come home. He's jaundiced and needs photo therapy.
Katie and Ray said Eóghan was mad, he did not like being on his stomach, and he did not like having the goggles on or having his head wrapped, but as soon as the light was switched on, he stopped crying, and he settled down for a nice nap:

Don't get too comfortable there.
Hurry Home, Little Man!
You have a host of friends and family anxiously awaiting your homecoming!

GOOD NEWS!

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 17:45:00 +0000

Eóghan is doing very well! He is still in the NICU but no more spitting up blood and his tests have come back positive! The stomach pump was removed and he was put on a special newborn formula (because he kept spitting up and it's very important that he keep fluids down in order to keep the bilirubin count down). He's still a little jaundiced, so they are trying to get him to drink as much as possible and still giving him IV fluids, but if the next blood test comes back okay, and we can assure the hospital that he will be seeing his own pediatrician tomorrow, Eóghan can come home! (I'm waiting for a call back from the doctor now).

So I'm still hoping and praying!

And just look at this big boy picking his head up off his Mommy's shoulder already, trying to get a look at the world around him!

Ray sent me these from his phone. Ray works just a few blocks from the hospital so lucky Grandpa got to see him on his lunch hour!

(He looks like he's saying, "Hey, who is that?")

("Oh, it's you, Paw. Hi, Paw!")

Thank you, everyone, for all your good thoughts, well wishes, and all your prayers. I appreciate it so much!

Oh! And a few people asked about Eóghan's name, it's pronounced like Owen, but it's spelled with the Gaelic spelling. And, no, it's not a family name (at least not that I know of!), it's just a name that Katie liked (and I've always liked the name Owen too!), and it was my niece Erin that was rooting for the Irish spelling! I actually like it, I think it's unique.
Eóghan's middle name is Harry, and that is for Ray's Dad.

Thanks again, everyone!
Love,
Eileen

A Prayer For Eóghan Harry

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 18:46:00 +0000

This strong little man who has been eating, voiding, and moving his bowels so well is now having a little trouble. He was vomiting blood so he's been transferred to the NICU, where he is having his stomach pumped, deprived of any food by mouth, his only nutrition is IV fluids, and he is not very happy. But even so, he is easily soothed by a little song or poem, a stroke of the head, and lots of loving, and he calms right down and goes back to sleep:

Look at this BIG BOY! And he's a fighter! Pulling out all his tubes!

I sang him my little "Grandma's Baby" song and told him how much his Grandma loves him, and I think he understood:

(Is that not a smile?!! Yes, I do believe Eóghan smiled at me!)

I love baby's profiles.
And I ask you ~ is this not one of the sweetest profiles?

Initial tests and an x-ray show no blockage, so that's a very good sign. Now they are in the process of emptying his stomach, and sometime over the next twenty-four hours they will re-introduce "food" (which I think will make Eóghan very happy!), and we'll see what happens.

If you could remember to say a prayer for Eóghan we'd appreciate it.

Meet Eóghan Harry

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 11:14:00 +0000

Eóghan Harry arrived Saturday, September 24 at 5:44 PM weighing eight pounds and thirteen ounces, and twenty-one inches long! (He hardly fits into the newborn diapers!)

His Mommy went to her doctor's appointment at noon and she was told that she was half-way through already and to get herself to the hospital (Kate had been having contractions on and off all week, and Friday night & Saturday morning they were getting stronger and coming faster). Ray drove them to the hospital in Manhattan, and I was kept up-to-date on the progress through texts from Katie and phone calls from Ray. And finally the call that he was here! And then the first phone picture from Katie:

But that was not enough for Jayden, Ellie, and myself ~ we were anxious to meet Eóghan in person! So Ray drove from Manhattan, picked us up, and drove back downtown. And then we were a very happy group!

Ellie and Eóghan

A very tired, but very happy Mommy with her two boys

Jayden always finds ways to occupy himself, here he found some gloves and I think he's playing mad scientist!

But I think he had more fun getting to know his new baby brother!

Look at the cute little hats the hospital gives to the babies:

A new little life.
Thank You, God!

Sophie/Frankenstein

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 12:18:00 +0000

Katie and Sophie were playing "Frankenstein" over and over again, but, of course, when Ray tried to record it Sophie wasn't cooperating. Finally, she decided to do it once more (but once she stepped on something on the table her only interest was in what happened to be left on Ellie's plate!):

Silly, Nothing Things That I Remember And Think Of With My Mom And Dad

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 13:07:00 +0000

My parents Wedding Anniversary was earlier this month and they would have been married sixty-five years. I miss them a lot, and I've been thinking about them so much. And one of the silly, nothing things that sticks with me was what they would order from the menu when we went out to eat at a diner.
My Dad would always order a Grilled Swiss on Rye with Split Pea Soup (if that happened to be the soup of the day, Split Pea was his favorite) and coffee, and my Mom would order a Belgium Waffle (you know the kind with the ice cream and whipped cream atop, and not for dessert, that was her dinner!) or sometimes she'd order a shrimp salad sandwich and coffee.
'Wish I could be sitting at the diner with you, Mom and Dad, and watching you enjoying those now~

And another thing I remember is my Mom telling me when I was little:
"Stay close to the Blessed Mother because St. Peter keeps complaining to Jesus about her. He says to Jesus, 'I keep turning the sinners away at the front gate and your Mom keeps sneaking them in the back door!" And then my Mom told me, " That's because she has a mother's heart, so stay close to her."
I have stayed close to her, Mom, and I hope you're telling her to sneak me in the back door~

This photo was taken at the time of their 50th Wedding Anniversary celebration:

September So Far...

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 19:30:00 +0000

...has been full and active! And in between our many home projects we did manage to squeeze in a little fun!

Labor Day Weekend the guys went to a baseball game:

Here's the happy group just before leaving the house (Mia slept over the night before and she was still lounging in her pajamas):

(I think the food is Jayden's favorite part of any baseball game he attends!)

Jayden was very impressed with the balancing talent of this vendor (I am too!):

Jayden's getting a better look at...

...Derek Jeter at bat!

And both Jayden and Mia started school again.
(Here's Jayden both excited and a little nervous on his first day.):

They are both very happy with their teachers and their classes this year! Whew!

And both Jayden and Mia are playing soccer this year:

Taking a few practice kicks before heading out to the game:

A little pep talk from the coach:

Jayden (number 15) helping a few team mates untangle from the net:

A few more practice kicks and then it's game on!

I think Jayden thinks he's assistant coach!

Jayden is 'all business' now that he has his Goalie gear on!

Jayden guarding his turf:

Mia is taking Instructional Soccer this Fall and she loves it!

Even baby sister Sophie comes to cheer her on each week:

(Well, she cheers between cat naps.):

Jayden giving Mia a few pointers:

"Did I do it right, Jayden?"

"Ohh! Yes! That was good, Mia!"

After yesterday's games some family came back to the house to celebrate Ellie's Birthday (she's in the background in the picture below):

Jayden loves his cousins! I hope he loves his baby brother just as much! (He's due to arrive today, but so far there has only been days and days of mild contractions, and so the waiting continues!)

I think it's adorable how Lori dresses the girls alike! I think it looks so cute and it reminds me of how my Mom used to dress my sister Diane and myself alike (everyone thought we were twins, and sometimes even my older sister Marybeth would be dressed like us, although I don't know if she thought it was so cute!).

So far September has been full, and active, and FUN!

Sophie's Baptism

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 11:27:00 +0000

I've been away from blogging so long, and we've been so busy with home improvement projects and I almost forgot to post about a most important date!

Sophie Gianna was Baptized on July 24, 2011:

Lori's Mom, Virginia, greets Sophie after the ceremony:

Here's proud big sister Mia!

Jayden and Ellie
(Ellie had the honor of being Sophie's Godmother and she is also Jayden's Godmother):

The happy family enjoying the party afterwards:

Our oldest son Brian (he's stealing the bread plate from another table here!) & his fiancee Flora:

My smiling niece Jill, and her husband Rudy, and my niece Erika watching Rudy be, well, 'be Rudy' as usual!
(And so sorry that my nephew Mikael's head got chopped off, but that's him in the background taking back the bread plate that Brian stole from them!):

My Aunt Florence and my cousin Laura:

My niece Erin and George:

Great-nephew Jamesy Boy and Jayden:

Jamesy Boys' parents, my niece Rebecca and her husband Jimmy:

My niece Rachel and her boyfriend Mike:

(Rachel and Rebecca are sisters [daughters to my sister Marybeth])

Ray's sister Susie and her husband Doug:

Ray and his brother Donald:

My sister-in-law Eileen and Ray's Mom Helena:

Some of the "girls"! (Ann, myself, Marybeth, and Diane):

Proud parents (our son Erik holding Sophie & our daughter-in-law Lori holding Mia) and Godparents (our youngest daughter Ellie and our youngest son Andrew):

Sophie actually cried during the Baptism service, but by the end of the night the guest of honor was all smiles!

(It was a big crowd at the celebration and I have tons more family and photos I could show you, but if I posted them all we'd be here for days!)

A Few More Projects At Our House

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 12:53:00 +0000

Ray has been undertaking quite a few big jobs around our house this summer and here are two more finished projects:

At one time Ray converted a tiny bedroom in our home into a walk-in closet/storage room for me. But with another baby coming into the house I emptied the closet, then Ray dismantled all his beautiful handiwork, and he got to work again making it over into a bedroom once again for our daughter Katie (and he had a little help from Jayden):

A built-in bed, a few cans of white paint, some bedding from Target and Katie was all set:

(It's tiny, but it serves it's purpose. Enough room for Mommy and newborn, until he graduates from bassinet to crib and moves in next door with big brother Jayden.)

And Jayden likes that Mommy is close by!

Then Ray got busy making over Jayden's room to accommodate both him and his baby brother:

I'm not really good about coordinating colors, so I usually stick to one color palette, and I chose gray for the boys room (Behr Silver Drop on the walls and woodwork, and Behr Irish Mist on the ceiling), and Ray found this great laminate flooring at Lumber Liquidators (Driftwood), and I was very happy with the results:

The curtains are actually shower curtains that my friend Barbara gave to me (I use shower curtains a lot on my windows throughout the house):

(See? Hung up with shower curtain hooks! So simple!)

It was very hard to find gray baby bedding, but I did find two crib sets online to choose from, and I went with this sweet white one with gray and red accents:

Jayden did not want any 'baby bedding', so he chose a Super Hero theme, and I was happy to find this 'vintage-look' Superhero comforter set online with colors that matched the room, and at the same time thrilled Jayden:

(Notice the changing table on the left in the photo? It was used as a changing table for Jayden when he was a baby but now it's been re-purposed as an entertainment center and it holds all Jayden's games!)

Well, my husband is a pretty handy guy to have around, because for sure without him I wouldn't have gotten any of this done. And our house would not be such a "very, very, very fine house" at all without him!

Working On A Dream

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 13:45:00 +0000

I've always had a dream of having a bigger house without actually moving. I love this old house I grew up in, it just always seemed cramped and crowded though. So I would dream of somehow making it bigger.

I dream it and Ray works on the dream to make it come true:

Ray single-handedly knocked down the wall between what was our dining room and what was our front sun porch to make a nice, new, bright and sunny living room.

(clearing out)

(prepping the room)

(Ray built a plastic wall to try and protect the rest of the house from all the dust)

(LOTS of work, LOTS of spackle, VERY FEW breaks!)

(the wall is down)

(destruction is finished and reconstruction begins)

Lots of toil and labor, lots of dust, a few mishaps, part of the wall falling on Ray's head, and bone-tired, but he got it knocked down in a weekend.
Our son Brian helped haul out bags and bags of debris (thank you, Brian!). And Ray's brother Donald came the next weekend to help sheet rock, tape, and spackle (thank you, Donald!). And our son Erik came one Saturday and helped us paint (thank you, Erik!). And our daughters Katie and Ellie kept Jayden occupied (thank you, Katie and Ellie!).
And, finally (it took awhile because Ray only had weekends to work on this project, and it looked like we were living in a warehouse for quite awhile with furniture and boxes all over the place), but, finally we were able to enjoy the fruits of his labor.

This is home:

(view from the [NEW] dining room)

(here's a BEFORE photo, with the wall up and the sun porch off the dining room ~ where that wardrobe stands is where the big chair sits now in the new living room)

(and here's some AFTER photos)

(view as you enter the room from the hall BEFORE make-over)

(view from the hall AFTER make-over)

(here's another BEFORE shot, taken while standing in front of the opening to the sun porch, looking into the old dining room and old living room beyond)

(and here's an AFTER view standing in front of the sofa [which is where the sun porch was] looking into the dining room [what was the living room] and hall)

I was nervous that we might be taking away from the character of the house, but I think Ray did a great job in making sure to keep the unique features of this old house:

(He made the built-in bookcase to mimic the ones already here in our home):

(He found some boards with a lot of personality, and then we distressed and stained them to look like old beams):

(Ray found the marble cap for the knee-wall at a second-hand shop. The marble was salvaged from the Museum of Modern Art, this marble was used when it was renovated in the late twenties and early thirties [a picture of it is hanging on the board above the marble], and my grandfather was a marble setter in the late twenties and early thirties, and my Mom said he worked cutting and setting big slabs of marble in museums and buildings around Manhattan. I'd like to think this cutting was from one of the slabs he set):

(Ray painstakingly worked to copy the curved ceiling and plaster ceiling molding):

I'm very happy with the results. It really gives us so much more living space, lots more entertaining space, and lots more space for the grandkids:

These pictures of our old house are near and dear to me, so I had to make sure they were hung in our new living room. The top one is an old tax photo taken in 1940, the middle one is a pencil drawing my brother-in-law Steve did for us (before we had the awning), and the bottom one is a drawing Jayden did for us:

And Mickey Mouse is near and dear to Jayden, so he had to make sure this was hung in our new living room along with the drawing of Mickey that Jayden did when he was two:

Here's a few photos of the old living room and now how it's being used as the dining room:

(then)

(now)
(I'm using the old entertainment center as a sideboard)

(then)

(now)
(it's almost finished, just a few more boxes and bags to empty, and a few pictures need to be raised up)

And I moved an old pie safe down into the dining room that I had been using in our bedroom. It's now a 'baby station', awaiting the arrival of Eoghan!

Ray also did two smaller projects that I'll post about at a later date. But suffice it to say I've kept him very busy these past few months.

Remember Us

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 04:12:00 +0000

I got this email from my friend Barbara earlier this week:

...my cousin, Diane Riegal, wrote and sings:

Song: Remember Us, will be presented at a 10th year 9/11 commemorative service in Jersey, Channel Islands Parish Church conducted by the Very Reverend Robert F Key, Dean of Jersey (Jersey, Channel Islands is off the coast of Normandy, France). Also, she just learned this week that a few radio stations in TN and OK started playing it.

She also sent me the link to the song on youtube.

I think it's a beautiful tribute for 9/11 ~

Jayden, And Joy, And Sorrow, And Babies, And The Waiting Place

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 17:33:00 +0000

Our family has been deeply saddened by a recent loss. For reasons of privacy I'm not going to mention any names.
But if anyone reading here will please say a prayer for all unborn babies, and all families who have suffered such a loss I think it will help. Thank you.

It really is overwhelming when you think of all the joy the news that an expected baby brings to the family, and then to have that joy cruelly replaced by crushing sorrow and loss, and a horrible feeling of 'never to be' and 'never to know'.

When telling Jayden about the baby going to Heaven before it was born he said to me, "That's because she was having twins and now it's just one. And I think she will grow strong and be born." I thought that was just his little mind trying to work it out that things would be okay for her and everyone.

Later on he was busy playing, and I walked into the room and he said to me, "I don't know what her babies names were in Heaven, but I know my name was Jack. And I don't know what Sophie's name was in Heaven, but I know Mia's name for sure was Rebecca." Then he looked sort of far off and reflective and said, " Well, it wasn't really Heaven, it was like a waiting place."

Later in the day I was talking to my daughter Katie on the phone, telling her all Jayden had said, and she told me to ask Jayden what Eoghan's name was in Heaven and he said, "I don't know, I only know Mia, because we were waiting together." Then I asked him if he thought this newest baby we had been waiting for would really grow strong and be born, and he said, "I hope now, but maybe not. But it doesn't matter really, because she'll come back again when she's ready. Sometimes they come for just a little while, but then they get scared and go back to Heaven. But they always come back to us, sometimes in different bodies, and sometimes in the same body. But they always come back to the same family, so her baby will be with us soon."

Before he went to sleep that night he told me that he and Mia knew they wanted to be in the same family. He said he picked his Mommy and Daddy, but he wasn't there when Mia picked her Mommy and Daddy. He said, "We weren't cousins when we were in the waiting place, but we knew we wanted to be."

He also told me that babies who are born sick or have something wrong with them are the bravest. He said, "I didn't know Sarah Palin's baby, we weren't waiting together, but I know that he is very brave."

Jayden's such a funny little guy. He's so wild sometimes, and he's so pre-occupied with playing, and it really takes me by surprise when he suddenly stops whatever he's doing to make these intense declarations.

I'd like to think a lot of what he said is fact.

Sorry I've been away so long, and seems like it will be a few weeks more before I can post again, or visit regularly. In the meantime I keep you all in my prayers.
Love,
Eileen

Busy Boy

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 00:28:00 +0000

Jayden has been a busy boy:

Helping Paw build a new bed for his Mommy...

...and getting his baby cousin Sophie to stop crying...

...and writing a book:

(I asked Jayden if he wrote this for his new little brother who will be here soon and he said that he mostly wrote it for him but he also wrote it for "all the babies". I asked, "All what babies? All the babies in the world?" And he said, "No, just all our babies. Sophie, and Eoghan, and Lucy Ray." Eoghan [pronounced Owen] is the name Katie picked for her baby boy, and Brian's baby will be named Lucia Helena if it's a girl, or Raymond Francisco if it's a boy, so Katie took to calling Brian and Flora's baby "Lucy Ray" and now that's what we all call her/him.)

Jayden hasn't only been hard at work, he has also found time to relax too...

...in the pool with Jamesy Boy...

...and enjoying a poolside snack with Mia...

...and enjoying a visit from FarMor and Aunt Susie...

(FarMor really liked Jayden's shirt that we picked up for him in the Swedish Shop at Olde Mystik Village in Mystic, Connecticut!):

He also had a fun sleep-over with Mia (but we heard from Mommy and Aunt Ellie, who slept down in the living room with them, that they didn't get much sleep)...

...and he had lots of fun showing off his new "tattoos":

Ray and I have been busy too, with family, and home projects, and getting ready to welcome two new grandchildren. I'll try to post about it all soon. And I'll try to visit you all more often.

(I'm still blocked from some blogs and I especially miss being able to read Rebecca and Lidj, but I'm not giving up yet!)

May Days And May Daze ~ And Babies Are Always A Blessing

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Tue, 31 May 2011 13:49:00 +0000

May's calender was full:

We got back from our trip to Newport on May 1 and since then the month of May has flown by in a whirlwind (what exactly is a whirlwind? Well, I looked it up and found that it is a rapidly rotating vertical column of air, such as a dust devil, or waterspout, or tornado ~ yep, that word seems to fit my life right now).
There were lots of celebrations (Birthdays [Susie, Frankie, Erik, Lori, and Donald turns 60 today! Happy Birthday, Donald! ], Anniversaries [Erik & Lori ~ 9 years, Ray & myself ~ 38 years], and Holidays), and Jayden's school had a Plant Sale, and a Spring Show, and there was uniform measurement day, and a beautiful May Crowning Mass. And Ray and I have been busy, still purging, boxing things to donate, and one evening he loaded up my Aunt Florence's truck with lots of boxes full of 'stuff', and the following morning after dropping Jayden at school, Florence and I took the boxes to her Church which was having a White Elephant sale. All good.

Jayden's School had the May Crowning Mass out on the lawn:

This is an indoor statue that was brought outside for the crowning ceremony.

An altar was set up outside and lifted up onto a platform for easy viewing.

The lawn is behind the school and on the side of the church. The building on the far right in the picture below is the Rectory:
(One of the teachers was very smart and brought an umbrella for shade. She was also very sweet, I noticed later that she gave the umbrella to her students so they could get a little relief from the sun. My Aunt Florence and I were lucky, we took lawn chairs and set ourselves up under a tree.)

The procession included the 7th Graders who had just received the Sacrament of Confirmation last week...

...and it also included the 2nd Graders who had received the Sacrament of First Holy Communion on Mother's Day weekend.

The gifts:

The children of St. Luke's School bought this chalice and paton, which will be used at all the Masses the school children attend:

(Jayden's class)

All the bouquets under the statue of Mary were made from flowers that the students each brought in.

Usually it's a Confirmation girl and a Communion girl that crown Mary together, this year they did it a little differently, and I liked it very much. This year a Confirmation BOY crowned the indoor statue with a floral crown...

...and a little Communion girl put a wreath of flowers on the outdoor statue.

Jayden's school is celebrating it's 100th Anniversary this year, so the Spring Show was all about the songs and dances from the last hundred years. It was very cute and it was very entertaining!

My favorite routines were the Pre-K class singing "Yes Sir, That's My Baby" (1925 hit), the 2nd Grade singing "Ma, He's Makin' Eyes At Me" (1940 hit), and my most favorite was the first act when one of the 3rd Grade classes came out and sang and danced to "Alexander's Ragtime Band" (1911 hit):

I was surprised at how well all the children did with their dance moves.
Jayden's class sang and danced to "Jump" (1984) and they did it with great enthusiasm!
And when the song came to the 'jump' part, Jayden made sure his feet went straight out back and his knees never touched the floor, and if I can ever remember how to upload the video I'll post it for you.

At our son Erik's birthday celebration Mia had great fun teaching our daughter Katie how to do some dance moves of her own...

...and Katie had great fun learning!

And because I don't want to leave out our newest grandchild, here's a few Sophie photos:

Looking at big sister Mia

Getting some loving from her Daddy

Laughing at Grandpa

Very happy girl here with a very full belly!

Grandma gets to steal a few moments of pure joy!

Donald's wife Linda had a Birthday celebration for him this past weekend:

Mikael is in the Marine Reserves and he was just recently promoted to Sergeant. I think Donald is telling him a big fish story here. (Look how brown Donald is already!)

Here's Rudy (the pest) making a face as usual, and beautiful Jill holding one of Don & Linda's three cats. I think this cat looks just like a big old raccoon with his striped tail:

Linda works in an animal hospital and she adopted this abandoned black beauty:

Yesterday was Memorial Day and a BIG thank you goes to our military who sacrificed so much to keep us free and to keep us safe.
In the morning we went to the cemetery and put American Flags on the graves of my Dad and my Uncle Tom.

And then we went to the parade at noon:

Mayor Bloomberg marched in the parade again (yellow shirt):

After the parade we all walked up to our house for a barbeque.

Florence, Diane, and Steve

William is back from his school term in Scotland, and Andrew is still hobbling around with a torn tendon in his calf, but he made it here. It was good to see them both!

I got to spend some time with the newest addition to the family!

And I had lots of fun playing with these baby feet...

...and I even got Sophie to laugh!

And this month we were presented with some exciting news, which left me a little dazed. Our oldest son and his fiance stopped in to tell us that she is expecting and the baby will arrive in mid-January. They do not plan on moving up their wedding date (which will be in two years) ~ it's a different world I guess. And, so, we go with the flow.
And we're very happy to be welcoming a new baby into the family next year.

And then there was more news, which left me somewhat more dazed. Our oldest daughter (Jayden's Mom) has not been feeling well for months, she finally made an appointment with her doctor who sent her to a gastroenterologist, well, she found out that she wasn't in need of a gastroenterologist, but she is in need of an obstetrician, she too is expecting, and the baby will be here in mid-September (she's already been told that it's another boy). And my mind is in a whirlwind (there's that word again, it also means a tumultuous, confused rush ~ yep, that about sums up my feelings and my life), I'm busy thinking about all there is to do in a few short months, setting up a nursery, and getting Jayden's crib down from the attic, oh, and where did we store the playpen and the cradle? And I guess we'll have to get another car seat, and we gave away the stroller, so we'll need a new one. And for sure we'll have to put plans of moving down south on hold for awhile, and we'll have to take a break from cleaning out the attic and the basement while we prepare these next few months for a baby to be coming into our home once again.
And, so, again, we go with the flow.

And, while these might not be ideal circumstances for welcoming new babies ~ well, welcomed these babies will be no matter what the circumstances.
Welcomed, and loved, and cherished.
God Is The Author Of Life, and, again, all is good.

And as my sister Diane says, "Babies are always a Blessing".

"Umma's World" Is Going Into Semi-Retirement

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Sat, 14 May 2011 11:53:00 +0000

(I posted this a few days ago, but, of course it disappeared into the Blogger World, I heard Blogger was having lots of problems. Only the original draft was saved, so I'm not sure if these were my final thoughts on this subject but it will have to do.)

No, I'm not going to stop blogging altogether.
No, I'm not going to disappear.
Yes, I'll still be haunting the blog world.
But, I think it's time "Umma's World" took a little retreat.

I've been blogging "Umma's World" for over two years now, and I've done hundreds of posts, but many of my fellow bloggers and myself now only post sporadically, and some of the 'original' bloggers don't post at all anymore. I miss those that have stopped blogging altogether, but I realize that life gets in the way, and we all have to take a break or move on sometimes, myself included. I do miss that 'village' bond we all once had, but I'm so happy and grateful for that connection while it lasted. And I'm so grateful to have your friendship.

I still enjoy visiting blogs, but I've noticed lately that the posting has gotten to be more of a chore for me. And visiting some blogs is an impossibility as I keep getting error messages.

I have a few ideas for starting anew sometime in the distant future, maybe when/if we finally move.
But for now I will only be posting on Umma's World occasionally, just to keep up the scrapbook of my life, and to post about our family (mostly, of course, our grandchildren), which was really always the intention for this blog, sort of a self-indulgent diary. I have a few Birthdays, and Anniversaries, a Baptism, and a few other special occasions coming up in the next few weeks and months that I may be posting about. And my youngest son renewed ummasworld.com domain as a Mother's Day gift for me, so I'll still be hanging around Umma's World, just not as often anymore. I also want to give some attention again to my prayer blog, and I want to focus on starting a picture blog of New York and all my favorite bits and pieces of the city, as a sort of keepsake to always have when we do move, and I also want to concentrate on continued success in de-cluttering my surroundings which is very time-consuming.

I will continue to visit the blogs I'm able to access though.

I thank you all for visiting here over the past few years, and I appreciate your comments, and I thank you for your prayers, your support, and your friendship.
Thank you for sharing in my everyday moments, and for sharing in my sometimes 'not-so-everyday' moments. Thank you for sharing in my dreams, hopes, secrets, laughter, tears, fears, memories, and future plans. And thank you all for allowing me to share in all your moments too. You have enriched my life so much and you all mean a great deal to me and you will remain in my heart, my thoughts, and my prayers.

I'm not going to say good-bye...

... I'll just say that we'll soon pick up where we left off...

...so...

...until we meet again, friends...

Mother's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Mon, 09 May 2011 12:18:00 +0000

I never really knew the origin of Mother's Day in the United States, for some reason I thought it was a son that came up with the idea as a way to honor his mother, so when I went in search of Mother's Day I was surprised to find that Julia Ward Howe wrote the Mother's Day Proclamation in 1870, and in the years following the Proclamation, Ann Jarvis founded five Mothers' Day Work Clubs to improve sanitary and health conditions. Both these women believed that women should be active in society and on the political scene.
In 1907 Anna Jarvis held a memorial service for her mother (Ann Jarvis had passed away two years earlier) in which she campaigned to make "Mother's Day" a recognized holiday in the United States.
In 1912 Anna Jarvis also trademarked the phrases "second Sunday in May" and "Mother's Day", and she created the Mother's Day International Association. She was specific about the location of the apostrophe, she wanted it to be a singular possessive, for each family to honor their own mother, not a plural possessive commemorating all mothers in the world.
By 1914 Anna Jarvis was successful in having Mother's Day declared a national holiday, but she was very disappointed with the commercialization of the holiday by the 1920's.

It seems to me that's the American way, we commercialize everything. And I don't think that's such a horrible thing, it's the sign of a free country. And we are free to reject any and all commercialization. It's up to us to decide how much we want to buy into or participate in the commercialization of any holiday or Holy Day. We can render holidays meant to honor our military into nothing more than an excuse to throw barbeques, we can remember St. Valentine only by buying candy hearts and bouquets of flowers, we can honor the Birth of Christ with nothing more than an exchange of gifts, and we can honor His Resurrection with nothing more than Easter bonnets and chocolate bunnies. It's really not the fault of the greeting card industry (or any industry) if we choose to honor any holiday in a commercial way. In my case, I like a bit of commercialization, I like to exchange cards and gifts, I like to throw barbeques, I like dressing in various outfits to celebrate holidays and Holy Days, but I realize that's not the whole of it. And I realize that if those commercial gestures didn't exist, the sentiments, the meaning, the important significance behind the holidays and Holy Days still live on.

One of my favorite holidays is Mother's Day, and I had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend. On Saturday morning Ray and I got up early, we did some food shopping, and then we went to the garden center and bought some plants for the cemetery. In the afternoon we went there with my Aunt Florence and we planted geraniums on the graves of my Uncle Tom and cousin Jimmy (Florence's husband and son), and on my grandparents grave, and my Aunt Margie & Uncle Bill, and we stopped by Uncle Paul's grave (we usually don't plant on his grave because his family takes care of that), and last stop was my parent's grave. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, there was a nice breeze, and I always love visiting the cemetery. It's quiet and peaceful, and almost park-like.
Later that evening Ray & I walked down the block to our favorite Greek restaurant for dinner.

Yesterday the kids came over, and also my Aunt Florence and my sister Diane (her son William is still in Scotland, and her husband Steve is away on business), and Ray barbequed hotdogs and hamburgers (first time this year) and it was delicious!
It's very rare that we remember to take pictures of all of us together but this time we remembered!

Lori holding Sophie, Erik holding Mia, Ray, myself, Brian with his fiancee Flora, Katie and down in front is Andrew, Jayden, and Ellie

Here's the new big sister:

('Love her pink shoes!)

Here's all the girls:

Flora with Diane behind her, Lori with Mia in front, myself holding Sophie, Ellie, Katie, Aunt Florence

And here's the boys ~ engrossed in their video game:

It was a great weekend!

A Visit To Newport, Rhode Island

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Tue, 03 May 2011 23:44:00 +0000

Ray and I had a nice weekend away. He took the day off on Friday so we had an early start on the weekend.
First we stopped in to see the grandgirls on Thursday evening:

Oh, Sophie was not a happy girl!

That's much better, Grandma! Forget the lullabies, just bring on the food!

I wanted a picture of the girls together, but Mia was a girl of action and not much in the mood for sitting still and posing.

Okay, onto the weekend. We spent the weekend in Newport, Rhode Island, and we took so many pictures so I will break the weekend up into different posts. Today I'll show you the hotel we stayed at and St. Mary's Church in Newport:

The Viking Hotel was built in the 1920's by the citizens of Newport (mostly ultra rich and ultra elite), it was built to accommodate their guests and visitors because most of the hotels in Newport were very small and could only house a few guests. It's a beautifully restored hotel right in the heart of Newport so it was very convenient for us.
We parked the car in a lot across the street from the hotel and walked everywhere, there is not much parking on the street, and in most areas you need a town sticker to park on the street.
We were able to stay in this hotel with some 'reward points' Ray had on his credit card. We usually save those for plane fare for the family on our trip to Disney, but we enjoyed driving down to Florida last year so much that we decided we'll drive again in the Fall.

This is the lobby across from the front desk:

And as we walked down the hall to our room we saw that there were a few lounges and private rooms to sit and relax in:

I liked this hotel a lot. It reminded me of the 'Old World' charm that the Michelangelo in Manhattan used to have (the Michelangelo was my favorite place to stay in the city until they redecorated, now it's lost all charm and in my opinion the Michelangelo now looks like it was decorated to resemble a brothel, all dark, with red velvet upholstered furniture, and heavy drapery, just not appealing to me at all. I think the one in Italy kept the old decor though. Lucky Italians.).

Our room wasn't exceptionally big, but it was pretty and it was comfortable:

(These pictures look a little dark, but the room was actually bright and airy.)

I like it when they leave the bed made up this way, sort of half-made, instead of having the covers all drawn up over the bed pillows. I think it looks more comfortable and inviting like this:

I thought it was strange not to have the sink inside the bathroom, it was in a little nook opposite the closet area:

There was plenty of room to fit a sink in the bathroom right in between the toilet and the bathtub (next to that towel rack there was a big empty space), but then I thought that it might have been designed like this to accommodate a wheelchair, and to make it easier for a disabled person to transfer:

The best thing about the bathroom though was this:

(I thought this was a great idea, I'm surprised more hotels don't do this!)

I loved the restaurant in the hotel and the food was delicious! We had breakfast there twice (the hotel offered a buffet type breakfast, but we opted to order off the menu and I'm glad we did ~ it was much cheaper and we both loved the blueberry pancakes and we came back a second time to enjoy them!), and we had dinner there the first night. We both had crab cakes as an appetizer, and I tried mahi mahi for the first time (which was served with sauteed spinach), and Ray had frutti de mare, and everything was amazing! 'Sorry we forgot to take photos of the meals but I did get photos of the restaurant:

(Here's the breakfast buffet set up in the bar area. This photo I found online, but the set up was exactly the same when we were there.)

Dinner was served in this pretty dining room:
(Internet picture...
...our pictures are so dark because we didn't want the flash to disturb other guests trying to enjoy their dinner.)

And breakfast was in this back room:

(I loved this room with the light pouring in, even on an overcast morning.)

We were seated at a table for two next to a window the first morning:

And the second morning we were seated at a table for two along the brick wall opposite the patio doors which were opened to let in the beautiful Spring air:

It felt so refreshing!

It was such a beautiful morning that they had the patio all set up to serve and I was sorry we didn't request a table here:

On Saturday evening we went to Mass at St. Mary's Church which was just a short walk from the hotel:

This is the church that Jack and Jackie Kennedy were married in:

We got to church very early before Mass started because I wanted to snap a few pictures, and I don't like treating church as a tourist attraction and being a distraction while other people are trying to quietly pray.

After Mass this sweet woman that is being greeted by the priest came over to us and told us to make sure we got a picture of the organ in the loft...

...so we did! Thank you, sweet lady!

I like these old churches, and even though so many of them are small, they were erected much like the style of great cathedrals, with the same attention to detail:

(Sorry that so many of the pictures are blurry but we didn't want to use the flash in church.)

The wood carving behind the altar is so detailed and so beautiful:

I was happy to see that the original steeple cross was kept on the grounds of St. Mary's. It hurts my heart a little when these things are just discarded, it's like throwing away a piece of history, I guess that's why I have such a hard time letting go of my 'things'.

Our hotel had a photo displayed in one of the lounges, it was of the Kennedys exiting Sunday Mass at St. Mary's. Jackie's childhood home at Newport (Hammersmith) was used by the First Family during the summers so much that it was known as the 'Summer Whitehouse', and the Kennedys used to dine at the Viking hotel often:

(I was never really captivated by this couple, I just thought they were so self-centered and all show, but as I got older I grew to admire Jackie very much, I think she was a wonderful mother):

My next post I'll show you the photos we took of so many historic and beautiful homes we saw while walking around the neighborhood the first day, and later I'll post about our 'Cliff Walk' along the ocean, and I'll also post about the mansions and the tour we took of the Vanderbilt summer "cottage" The Breakers, and I'll also post about the stories some of their servants told at another time. We packed a lot into two and half days!

I'm On A Purge Quest

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 21:21:00 +0000

I'm done with collecting, and I've moved on to purging. Recently I came across an article on de-cluttering written by Leo Babauta, and he summed up the art of de-cluttering very nicely:
1. Identify what is most important to you
2. Eliminate everything else

Sounds simple, right?
Well, Leo Babauta also says you must be merciless.
And that's been very hard for me because I have a very strong, very strange, and very irrational attachment to some of my things, and while that may be understandable with family treasures, much of what I have accumulated over the years is far from family treasure, most are just 'trash treasures' (items I've picked from the garbage)! But for me, there was instantaneous bonding with these trash treasures, and at once they became 'dear-to-my-heart' items. So I had to summon up a little of my sister Diane (when cleaning out the house my parents were living in and getting them ready for a big move years ago, Diane would pick up an item and in a split second she would decide if it stayed or if it went. And I remember clearly her words as she tossed things, "This has served it's purpose"), so now my motto is 'this has served it's purpose and it's time for it to move on'.

I've heard it's hard to stop collecting. I read that a collector takes no pleasure in just looking at things, the pleasure comes from acquiring things. I'm hoping that's not true, because as much as I don't want to give up looking or 'window shopping', I certainly don't want things cluttering up my house again! I'm hoping I go from an 'acquirer' to an 'admirer', and I'm hoping I have the will to pass things by without having the need to make them my own, or the need to rescue them and give them new life.
I know I'm always going to love 'things', but I also know that I can't have it all, and really, I think I'm at a point in my life where I don't want it all anymore.
Also, I recently read that we should use good stewardship in the space that God Has Provided for us, and I have not been using good stewardship at all in the space He Has Provided for me! So I am on a quest to purge, and I am on a quest to maximize efficiency by living with less. And in the process I am becoming so much more thankful.

So far we've gone through the front room, the back room, the kitchen, and some boxes in the basement, and Katie has gone through some of Jayden's toys too. And with only a fraction of the elimination done, already it feels good. I know it will takes months and months before I get through almost thirty years of accumulation, but I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel now.

Although I want to de-clutter my surroundings and live a more simple lifestyle, I have no desire to live a spartan lifestyle. So I will be hanging onto a few treasures, but I'm hoping I will pare down to a very few treasures, and I'm hoping very soon that my massive accumulations and I will see a parting of the ways.

On a side note, I've seen a very interesting study in human behavior through de-cluttering. For a few weeks we had "FREE" signs out, I was just hoping that people would stop by, love my things and want to adopt them, take them for nothing, no cash exchange, everything free. But very few people took anything.
Then Ray decided to have a yard sale, and sell everything cheap, he and the girls set up the tables, he put a few 'YARD SALE' signs up around the neighborhood, and things sold like hotcakes!
What's up with that? I guess people like to feel that they got a bargain , but I guess they feel that "free" isn't a bargain? I don't get it.

Also, some happy news to report ~ our oldest son Brian and his girlfriend Flora got engaged! No date set yet, but I'll keep you posted!

Easter Bonnets, Scavenger Hunt, Sickness, And A Birthday Celebration

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 16:14:00 +0000

I had a great week. It was a busy week, but it was wonderful, and it was a week filled with family, friends, and many Blessings. And I am so grateful!

And Easter brought even more delights! After Mass I got busy with dinner, and then there was lots of eating and visiting with family, and we also celebrated Mia's 4th Birthday with everyone here. (Unfortunately neither Ray nor I thought to take any family pictures, but we always remember to take pictures of the grandkids!):

We actually didn't get a chance to see Sophie on Easter, too many family members have been sick lately (my sister-in-law Susie missed out on celebrating Easter, she was home sick yesterday), and the medical professionals today make new parents "germ crazy" by telling them if a newborn runs a fever they MUST do a spinal tap on her. So, of course, no one wants to take the chance that Sophie might get sick. (Poor Mia was even banned from her own home when she got the virus and had to stay with her Grandmum for a few days).
So Lori and Sophie weren't able to join us, but they sent us some pictures of them enjoying their Easter morning and of the girls in their Easter bonnets:

And lucky for us, Erik & Mia were able to visit with us later in the day so the family could have a big Birthday celebration for Mia.

Before we got ready for Mass, Jayden had a little scavenger hunt and it was lots of fun for us to watch him:

Jayden was used to an Easter Egg hunt that only involved him searching the house for plastic eggs with a treasure of M & M's inside. So this was a little different for him...

...and it took some getting used to on his part. But once he got the idea, he really enjoyed it!

My daughter Katie reminded me that I used to make up clues for them to have a little scavenger hunt along with the egg hunt, so I decided to try it this year with Jayden.

He said, "That was hard work, but it was worth it! And it was fun!"

Later in the day when Mia walked into our living room and saw all the Birthday gifts everyone brought for her, her eyes went wide and she said, "Wow!"

Mia got lots of dolls, and lots of dresses, tea sets, dishes, figurines, and so much more, and she was thrilled with each and every one!

She's a sweet girl, taking care with each gift, and opening each gift so daintily, and very appreciative of each one too.

(I love these yellow shoes!)

Then it was time for Birthday cake!

I sometimes think the family is like the paparazzi! We are constantly snapping pictures of these children! (And they are such good sports, posing with frozen smiles!)

In addition to the birthday cake, the family indulged us by bringing so many delicious treats! Ann, Erin, and Diane brought some Easter cupcakes along with them. Decorated so pretty for Easter!

Steve and Diane also brought this canoli cake. It looked too pretty to eat! But I forced myself and it was delicious!

I also had a taste of the birthday cake and it was yummy too. But there were way too many desserts to sample them all! Everyone came with something, there was cheesecake, and angel food cake, and coffee cake, and carrot cake, in addition to a few desserts I made.
And one of the desserts I made were Wanda's Reese's Peanut Butter Cup cookies, and the Birthday Girl loved them (Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are Mia's favorite candy, so this cookie was a big hit)! I sent her home with some, and she told me she's coming to visit this week so she can get more! Thanks for posting the recipe, Wanda, everyone enjoyed them!

'Hope you all enjoyed a Blessed Easter too!

Holy Week

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 20:39:00 +0000

I used to think it was so strange to hear about "celebrating" Holy Week. I only thought of Holy Week in terms of sad reflection, until one day a few years ago, while attending a Lenten prayer service, a nun talked about Holy Week in terms of celebrating the grandeur and majesty of God's Great Plan for us, and in terms of celebrating the magnificence and radiance of Jesus' Sacrificial Triumph. And she talked about this week being a great celebration of God's Love for us, and she asked us as we contemplated the Great Sorrow of this week, we not lose sight of the Great Splendor.

Whether you follow Holy Week or not, I hope you all have a very Blessed week. And if you do follow Holy Week, I hope you are able to spend some time in prayer and in reflecting on and celebrating the solemn Scripture readings, and I hope this week leads you to the "Great Splendor" and a Joyous Easter!

I probably won't be posting again until after Easter, so I am going to wish you all a very HAPPY EASTER!

Happy Birthday, Mia!

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 20:16:00 +0000

Four years old! Where does the time go?!

Seems like only yesterday...

Today was not only Mia's Birthday but she also had her dance recital!

We stayed with Sophie while Mommy & Daddy took Mia to her recital:

We were sorry to miss the dancing, but we were happy to join in the Birthday fun!

Mia had birthday cupcakes instead of birthday cake ~ a girl after my own heart!

Erik made them and I thought he did a fabulous job!

It was so nice to spend some time with these two sisters.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MIA!

Another New York City Subway Incident ~ You Go, Girl!

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 21:36:00 +0000

Unfortunately these incidents are fairly common on the New York City subway. I'm not saying it's an everyday occurrence, but I'll bet I personally know (at a minimum) of a dozen women that this has happened to on the subway.
When I worked in Manhattan, it happened to me once on the subway, once while walking on the street, and once in the building I worked in. My reaction was to do NOTHING other than feel scared, and sickened, and violated, and I moved away from the offender and the situation as quickly as possible. I wish I had the presence of mind and the courage to respond in the manner of this girl!

(So sorry about the commercial in the beginning of the video. It's only about fifteen seconds though, and the video is worth it.)

Story link: MyFoxNY.com

Aan Amsterdamse

noreply@blogger.com (Eileen) — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Diane, Steve, and Will were kind enough to send me pictures of the last leg of their trip.

At Amsterdam:

I could not stop laughing at this photo below! Funny, Will!

So many nice canal photos:

It must be so interesting to live on one of these houseboats!

Here's the Anne Frank house from across the canal:

And here's Diane standing in front of the Anne Frank house:

You are not allowed to take pictures inside the house. If anyone is interested you can go to this website and you can take a virtual tour: http://www.annefrank.org/en/Subsites/Home/ (sorry, I can't link to it).
I was so sorry to miss this tour in person, but the website is great.

It's just so heartbreaking to think of the Frank family going behind those doors and not venturing out until forced to do so, and then transported to concentration camps, and eventual death for all but one.

I don't know why I feel so drawn to tour their hideout, but I'm determined to get there one day.

Diane and Steve said there were more bicycles than cars on the streets:

I'm intrigued by this one below. Is it a stroller/bike? Or is it more of a wagon or cart? Interesting.

This next photo was the breakfast buffet in their hotel. A little more elaborate than the breakfast buffets in the hotels I've stayed at:

Now I'm getting hungry!

And thirsty!

Now this is what first comes to mind when I think of The Netherlands! Windmills...

...and tulips...

...and wooden shoes!

Thank you, Diane, Steve, and Will! It was an amazing trip! And I had a wonderful time!