My Happy Baby

For only being 2 months old, Sydney sure smiles a lot! She has a mild case of croup, but she's still happy as can be. We had to suction all the mucous out of her nose this morning, and in between wails of objection she would look up at us and smile! It almost broke my heart!

10 Birthdays

Bobby's birthday was on Sunday. It was a bit anti-climactic because Lillian and I were sick, but we tried to make the best of it anyway. I made Bobby's favorite pumpkin cake roll and we set it ablaze with candles! Then Lillian helped him open his present (she would have done it all by herself before Bobby got home if I didn't hide it from her)!

Every year when Bobby's birthday comes around I feel so grateful to his parents for not stopping at six kids. Heck, six would've been more than enough for me, but they decided to keep going and [lucky] number seven was Bobby. My world would be much different if their number seven never came along. Not to steal your thunder on your birthday, Bobby, but I think your mom deserves a party, too- thank you , BB!

As Bobby and I were getting ready for bed that night, we realized that we have been a part of each others' lives for his last ten birthdays. We tried to remember each one, and here's what we came up with:

2000 - 19^th birthday- I paid some friends to take Bobby out so I could sneak into his bedroom and decorate it to the hilt with balloons, streamers, and birthday signs.

2001 - 20^th birthday- Bobby was on his mission and I was a freshman at American University. I sent him 20 birthday cards (many of them hand-made because I was poor...whew, it was time consuming!)

2002 - 21^st birthday- Bobby was still on his mission. I was going through my less-frequent writing stage, but we’re pretty sure I still sent him a birthday card.

2003 - 22^nd birthday- Bobby was trying to rekindle our relationship. He made a lot of trips to DC to visit me, and this year we went to Bucca di Beppo for his birthday. It remains the best Bucca meal we’ve ever had (and a few months later I was baptized).

2004 - 23^rd birthday- We were engaged and scheduled to be married in June 2005 after I graduated AU. For Bobby’s birthday I gave him a paper chain count-down to the wedding. This caused an emotional break-down and we decided that we couldn’t wait that long. We moved the wedding up to January instead.

2005 - 24^th birthday- We had been married almost 1 year and were living in Newark. This was the year I made Bobby a birthday sign (the one I can’t find now). I hung it in the doorway between the living and dining rooms and took a picture of Bobby standing under it, pretending to hold it up (that's all we could remember).

2006 - 25^th birthday- Still living in Newark. Bobby was waiting to hear back from med schools (a few weeks later he got his acceptance to PCOM). This was also the month that we got pregnant with Lillian!

2007 - 26^th birthday- First year in med school. I brought Bobby out for lunch to Tommy Gun’s, a great BBQ place on Ridge Ave. They have the best fried mac and cheese in the world. I made an ice cream cake and we had friends over.

2008 - 27^th birthday- The weather was beautiful so we went for a walk along the Wissahickon. We got cheese steaks at Larry’s and ate them on the trail. This was the first year that I made a birthday pumpkin cake roll.

2009 - 28^th birthday- That brings us to this year!

Happy Birthday, Bobby!

From Philly to Seoul

I love technology! I have a friend who is working in Seoul, South Korea. Despite the fact that she is nearly 7,000 miles away, we just had a quick little chat online. It amazes me that information can travel so quickly and so efficiently (most of the time!), and yet I often take it for granted. So here's a big thank you to all the geniuses out there who came up with the idea of the internet and for the super geniuses who invented it and continue to make it faster and better. You rock.

The Simeone Foundation Museum - Vrrrooom!!

I don't know anything about cars, but this race car museum was awesome! Bobby, Nate and I went with Lillian and Sydney on Saturday. It's been in South Philly for about a year and a half and it's comprised of Dr. Fred Simeone's personal car collection. We actually got to meet Dr. Simeone and he's a really nice guy. His dad was a general practitioner who got through med school by fixing cars. He said his dad was his hero and he wanted to be just like him, so he started collecting race cars at a young age, mostly in the 70's, before anyone knew their worth and history. He said most of them are so valuable now that he wouldn't be able to afford them. He donated his collection to the Simeone Foundation so that the public could enjoy it. And enjoy it we did! There were lots of Ferrari's, a couple Aston Martin's, an Auston Healey, some Bugatti's, a few Stutz cars, a bunch of Alfa Romeo's (these must be Dr. Simeone's favorites), and many, many more. I've never heard of most of these cars before (please excuse my ignorance for all you car experts out there), but it was still fun to look at them all- especially the pretty, shiny ones! I highly recommend a visit, I know you'll have fun.


The museum is located at 6825 Norwitch Drive in South Philly, right off I-76 and Passyunk Ave. It's only $8 for students, $12 for adults, and kids under 8 are free. They also offer yearly memberships. Their website is www.simeonefoundation.org.

My favorite quote in the museum is right above the entrance door: "The first race was conceived when the second car was built." Thank you, Dr. Simeone for your generosity and time in constructing this museum! Vrroooom! :)

Survivng Lillian

Sydney is one tough cookie. Her big sister loves her, but sometimes her lovin' is a little rough. In her short 2 month, 3 day life, Sydney has thus far endured the following from her good-intentioned sister:

-countless pokes in the eye
-mach-speed pushes in her swing and bassinet
-heavy duty bouncing in the bouncy chair
-a few attempts to pick her up (to her mother's horror!)
-tight squeeze hugs
-runny nose kisses
-she's been stepped on, laid on, and rolled over

Despite the tough love, Lillian is a great big sister and a good little helper. She always gets me diapers and wipes for Sydney and she likes to inform me when Sydney has pooped or tooted (just in case I hadn't noticed). After Bobby gave Sydney a bath tonight, Lillian came running into the living room with a pair of pj's for her. She likes to make her smile and she thinks it's the coolest thing ever when Sydney holds onto her thumb. It looks like they're already becoming good friends. :)

She's Here!

Sydney arrived last Thursday on September 10th- right on her due date (she's already more punctual than her mother)! She's doing great and everyone is adjusting well to having a new member of the family. Lillian loves being a big sister and Tasha is so sweet and tender with her. It's amazing to have a new little life to take care of. I'm trying to enjoy her newborn phase as much as possible because (as I have learned with Lillian already), they grow up so fast!!

(I don't know why the pictures are so fuzzy. I'll try to post better ones soon!)

I could sit around and wait for FOUR hours, or I could . . .

go shopping!!! And that's exactly what I did today.

I got to the West Philadelphia County Assistance Office at 10:30 this morning. I took a number to wait to be seen by "the man behind the curtain" who would or would not be able to fix the mess with my Food Stamps account. My magic number was 100. They were currently on 60. I sat and waited patiently for one hour, then decided that my life was too valuable to be wasted by sitting on my butt, waiting with no end or solution in sight. Number 67 was being served when I left to go to the mall to find a dress to wear to my brother's wedding next week (not an easy task, considering it had to be modest AND maternity AND within my budget). But with the help of a deeply devoted friend and a few small purchases from the candy store to keep 3 toddlers happy, we succeeded! [If you really want to know, it's a cute, black v-neck dress. You'll see pics after my bro's wedding.] :)

I got home at 2:30 pm- 3 hours after leaving the CAO and 4 hours after I first arrived there. Out of shear curiosity, I went back to the office to see what number they were on. To my surprise (or maybe it was to be expected), they were on 101- only 1 past my assigned number of 100. I dug my crumpled number out of my purse, showed it to the front desk receptionist/security guard and she said, "Honey, they just called your number. Where were you? Stay right here and someone will see you next."

I never told her where I had been, but five minutes later it was finally my turn. I can't believe that I could've sat there for four hours waiting to be seen. What I can't believe even more is that I actually left for several hours and was still able to come back in time. What a system . . .


**Note: I don't want this post to make it sound like I'm ungrateful for the County Assistance Office, any of the people who work there, or the Food Stamps program. I'm very thankful for all of them and the tremendous help they give to me and my family. I'm just amazed with how inefficient and short-staffed the office was (largely due to the fact that the entire state of PA has been running without a budget for the past few weeks, but that's an entirely different story). Anyways, I'm very thankful for this country and the many welfare assistance opportunities it provides to families like ours who need it temporarily.**

Birthday Video & Pics

Here's what the paparazzi picked up on Lillian's birthday!

That's Lillian's friend Hannah, keeping an eagle eye on the cake.
Listen to what she says at the end of the video, it's hilarious!

The Pre-Party with Lydia




My friend Tara made the birthday cake. It was AMAZING!!! She is so talented!




Party Mayhem



Presents, Presents, and More Presents!
Dora book from Tasha



Stickers from Granny B (she put every single one on her shirt!)

Money from Grandma BB went straight into her piggy bank


Whew!! What a day! Needless to say, we all conked out by the end of the night! Happy Birthday, Lillian!

Happy Birthday, Lillian!

Lillian had a fun-filled 2nd birthday. She did all of her favorite things- went to Miss Martha's music class with her best friend Lydia, played at the park, built tall towers with her blocks (then knocked them down), ate noodles, olives, and tomatoes for lunch, took a nap with Daddy, watched her all-time favorite movie High School Musical, and had a party!! All day long she kept saying, "My happy birthday!!" and she wanted me to sing "Happy Birthday" over and over.

It's amazing how much she's grown in the past two years. When she was born she could hardly do anything on her own. One year later she was starting to walk and talk a little bit. And now she's running around all over the place, jabbing away, and turning into her own little person. She's learned how to do so many new things in such a short amount of time. I definitely can't say I've learned as many new things as she has in the past year.

So here's to growing and learning . . .

July 23, 2007

July 23, 2008

July 23, 2009

Change the baby's "biper"!

Lillian likes to change her baby doll's bipers (aka diapers). This morning she pulled two of them out and said, "Wet! New biper!" She got a baby wipe, wiped them clean, then put on the new diaper (with help from Mom). Then she said, "All clean!" I told her that baby Syndey would need help changing her diaper when she comes. I asked her if she would help me do it and she said, "Yes!" Then she grabbed her wipe and started wiping my belly!! She knows that baby Syndey is in there! We just have to wait a little bit longer until we can change her diaper for real.

My Sister and Her Dog

Lillian loves my sister. She'll pick up my cell phone and say, "Hi Auggy!" Whenever I tell her that grandma is coming to visit, she says "Auggy coming tooo?" Blondes like to stick together, I guess. :)

Lillian also loves my sister's dog, Chico. His breath stinks, his skin is dry and flaky, and he looks like a big brute, but none of that stops Lillian from smothering him with hugs and kisses whenever she's around him. He's the sweetest, calmest dog you'll ever meet.


I'm so excited that my sister is moving here next month to start vet school, and I'm glad Chico is coming with her! He'll be a great city dog and Lillian will think she's in heaven, with her cool Aunt Audrey and Chico living so close!

Great News!

Bobby just found out that he passed the COMLEX Step 1 Boards! Yay!!! Now we can get on with our summer without worrying about it anymore! I'm so grateful that all the endless hours of studying and studying and studying some more paid off and I'm so proud of him! :) I'm sure all the delicous dinners, positive encouragement, and unconditional love from his wonderful wife helped him the most. :-D

"Book of Morning"

Lillian has discovered the "Book of Morning"- that's her way of saying "Book of Mormon." I've been trying to read a little bit every morning at breakfast time because our Relief Society has challenged us to read the whole thing by the end of summer (that means 5 pages a day- whew!). Now, whenever Lillian sees a copy she picks it up and says "Book of Morning!" Then she opens it up to a random page and pretends to read it by saying "book of morning, book of morning, book of morning . . . . " and so on. She's so proud of herself when she finishes "reading" a passage and she closes the book with a big smile on her face. I'm not sure if she calls it the Book of Morning because I've been reading it in the morning, or because she can't pronounce "Mormon" and "morning" is the next closest word she knows (and it's just a coincidence that that's when she sees me reading it). Either way, it's pretty funny.

Shooting at Holocaust Museum in D.C.

Yesterday afternoon an 88 year-old white supremacist walked into the United States Holocaust Museum and started shooting a rifle. He killed a security guard and was shot himself (he's now in critical condition at GW Hospital).

Apparently this guy has an extensive track record of racism, hate crimes, burglaries, weapons charges, attempted kidnapping, run-ins with the federal government, and a long history of associations with neo-Nazis and Holocaust deniers. His history is so bad that "officials and others who track conspiracy theorists have long been familiar with Mr. von Brunn [the gunman]."

So my question is this: Why are we spending so much money to wage a war against terrorism abroad when anti-Semitism, bigotry, and hatred is strong enough in this country to compel a man to shoot innocent people within the walls of a somber memorial that reminds us of how far hatred can go in claiming the lives of millions?

Ignorance, lack of education, poverty, indifference, apathy, misunderstanding (I could go on) are the real threats of terrorism in the United States. The scariest part is that they're in our backyards, not thousands of miles away.

Just my thoughts. What do you think?

The full NY Times article is here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/11/us/11shoot.html?th&emc=th

A Day in the Life of a Med Student

Bobby is now a third year med student- wahoo! Classes are over and rotations have begun (I like to call it "playing doctor"). :) For the next 4 weeks he will be at Chestnut Hill Hospital on a General Surgery rotation. Yesterday was only Day 2 on the "job", but it was anything but uneventful. Let me fill you in on some highlights of his day:

During a colonoscopy with a patient who had a highly infectious disease (I'm not sure how much detail I'm allowed to put here for patient privacy?? Let's just say this patient had something that you definitely don't want to get)- anyways, while the attending surgeon was injecting medication into the patient the needle broke and sprayed the medication everywhere. Of course my husband was standing right next to him and got sprayed all over. The likelihood of contracting anything is about one in a bajillion, but just to be safe and to follow procedure the nurses and doctors sent Bobby down to the ER to have his eyes flushed out (some got on his glasses) and to have some blood tests done. Everything looks fine and we're not worried about anything. Of course when he called me to tell me what happened I almost burst into tears, but I blame that more on my preggie hormones than anything else. I feel fine now. :)

Later in the day the chief resident was giving assignments to the students to do with the other residents. Someone needed a surgical consult (for something, I can't remember what), so Bobby volunteered for that one (because the chief resident said it would be "quick and easy"). He started to follow the resident, assuming he was going to the consult as well, but it turns out that he wanted Bobby to do it by himself!! He gave Bobby a quick list of specific questions to ask and sent him on his way. Bobby spent 20 minutes going over the patient's chart, then went into the room to start the consult (sweating bullets, no doubt). Immediately after he introduced himself and told the patient why he was there, the patient's daughter said, "This is the first time we've heard of this procedure. Are you sure you have the right room?" Sure enough, he was in the wrong room. He found the correct patient and the correct room and proceeded with the consult as scheduled. Good thing they give students lots of training and practice before they ship them off to be real doctors. But maybe that's why they call it "practicing medicine"- because you're always practicing and getting better. It's not a definite science, that's for sure!

Despite these events, Bobby is having a good time and he feels like he's learning a lot. He stayed at the hospital until about 8 pm to help one of the residents with a patient in the ER. I'm very proud of how far he's come in school and how well he's dong! The day that we can call him "Dr. D" isn't that far away!

English as a Second Language

A few weeks ago my church asked me to help teach a beginner/low intermediate ESL (English as a Second Language) class. The first class will be this morning in a couple of hours! I'm teaching a really simple (hopefully not too boring) lesson on how to introduce yourself and others.

We don't know exactly who our students will be, or how many we'll have yet. I know of 2 that are coming from my local ward- one is an older gentleman who's native language is Italian. He lives with his daughter and her 4 teenage children. The other is an older lady from Germany who is visiting her daughter and family for a few months. There's a significant African population in the area, so I assume that the majority of students will be from that area. We'll just have to wait and see!

I'm a little nervous about teaching, since it's been 2 years since I graduated with my Master's in Teaching ESL and I haven't taught it in a long time. But it's been exciting to get all my old books out and to plan a lesson! Teaching methods and learning strategies have been slowly coming back to me....hopefully they keep coming!

Teaching English is such a rewarding experience and I'm really looking forward to being involved with this class. English can seem so boring, but it's actually quite entertaining. I would recommend it to anyone. To prove my point, here's a funny commercial for ESL software. It circulated around my Master's program for a while:



Here's another funny one from Steve Martin's Pink Panther. Sooo funny, I can't help myself!! :)

Happy Memorial Day!

Here's our little American, wishing a Happy Memorial Day to her Uncle Paul and to all of the government officials and military personnel who are serving our country (as well as those who have served in the past). We are grateful for your service! And especially to Uncle Paul- we love you and we miss you!

The Ending of an Era

About a month and a half ago Bobby and I decided to take Lillian's much-beloved "chupie" away. If you're not familiar with the vocabulary at our house, "chupie" is just another way to say binkie, pacifier, passy, ba-boo, or whatever you may call it at your house. Lillian started calling her's an "uh-oh" because that's what I would always say when it would drop on the floor and bounce away, which was quite often.

In any case, the big green chupie has officially gone "bye-bye" and is "all done." I was surprised at how easy it was to take away and how little Lillian asks for it. I was sure she was a hard core addict and that she would suffer from severe withdraw when we took it, but the process has been mostly painless. She probably cries a little more without it, but a few more tears won't hurt her.

Now I have quite a collection of chupies that I don't know what to do with. I have to keep them hidden from Lillian becuase if she sees them she is suddenly reminded of her old habit and feels the addictive urge to start it again. At $4-$5 for a 2-pack, I just can't bring myself to destroy them, although that would probably be the most sanitary thing to do. I'm sure that recycling them isn't a good idea, no matter how economically or environmentally sensitive I'm trying to be. :/

In memory of the days of old, here are some classic chupie pics!

2 months


6 months - "must get chupie!!"


12 months


15 months


18 months


20 months - the last chupie pic we have!


22 months - chupie free and loving life!

Forget New Year's Resolutions!

They don't work!! :) I apologize to everyone who has been relentlessly checking and rechecking my blog only to be disappointed with the same old post time after time.

Summer is just around the corner, so it's time for a fresh new start!

Yesterday our friends Brandon and Melanie came to visit with their 8-month old Zoey. She is the best baby I've ever seen! She never cried!!

We went the the Jamaican Jerk Hut for lunch (as seen on In Her Shoes). We ate jerk chicken, curry chicken, and snapper (with the head and everything still attached!). Then we saw the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and all those horse drawn carriages.


It took a while to get around because Lillian insisted on pushing her own stroller all by herself. She's still a little too short to reach the handle bars and she can't see over the top, so she was driving blind and kept running into things. Not to mention it was her nap time, so exhausted frustration eventually took over and resulted in an emotional melt-down. Thank goodness Daddy was there to carry her on his shoulders while Mommy pushed her empty stroller. I honestly don't know why we even bother with strollers in the first place because that's usually what ends up happening.


After our friends left we had other friends, Susan and Dave, over for a BBQ. They're moving to Indiana tomorrow and we're really going to miss them!! Their son Jarom is almost 6 and he loves playing with Lillian- well, at least he does a great job playing with her, who, of course, follows him around and thinks he's the greatest thing in the world! While we were waiting for the food to finish on the grill, they found one of Lillian's little balls and Jarom would throw it and Lillian would retrieve it like a little puppy! After dinner they spent the rest of the time playing in the car. Lillian was in the driver's seat as always, and Jarom was in the passenger's seat playing with Lillian's toy laptop. They make such a great pair!

Btw, Susan and Dave's house is up for rent, so if you or someone you know needs a place to live in Philly, let us know!!