Two Months Old...

(a little late, I know!)

A Member of Her Church Family...

Casey was Baptized into the Catholic faith today, and we loved watching every minute of it! (Her Mommy even teared up - it was beautiful.)

These are just a couple of the shots from our own camera, but because we were the busy parents of the guest-of-honor, I'm hoping that some friends and family members have more pictures to share with us (*hint* *hint*!).

Here you are, folks!


Ready for the ceremony to begin, Casey was only happy with a binky in her mouth!

Father Donia and Casey's Godparents, Auntie Erin and Uncle Shawn...

A shot of the back of her gown (and you can see that I was hot - it was 90 degrees today!)...

Her parents and Godparents in beautiful St. Timothy Church...

Casey was pooped out for her luncheon following the Baptism!

Happy Earth Day!...

When Tee Jay and I were planning our wedding, a friend heard a piece on NPR called "Trash the Dress."

It was explaining a new fad where brides (and sometimes grooms are involved, too) schedule a post-wedding session with a professional photographer to don their gown and hop into the ocean, wade through mud, ride a horse, etc.

Basically, they "trash" their wedding dress and have the gorgeous portraits to prove it.

I liked the idea a lot (some of the pictures are so beautiful, and because many are "Lady of Shallot"-ish, I always think of my sister Erin and hope she considers this someday!). I knew that my daughters probably wouldn't want to wear my gown to their own weddings, and it would be dry-cleaned and placed in a closet, forever forgotten.

But...another idea formed shortly thereafter. So, in honor of Earth and Arbor Days taking place this week, these pics pose the question: "Why Trash When You Can Recycle??"

My wedding gown, worn with pride on June 9, 2007...



My wedding gown now...



And here's where that material went...





Now all of my children will be able to wear (a portion of) my wedding gown. It's exciting, because it's what I wore on the first day that Tee Jay and I started our own family.

Please keep Casey in your prayers on Sunday, as she is Baptized in the Catholic Church (and in this gorgeous little dress)!

Back in Black...

I know that when she is a teenager, early adult, and onward, Casey will probably find black to be a great outfit color. It's sleek, chic, and slimming.

But at the tender age of two months, I was a little dismayed to be dressing her in it already... dang you, Mysterio!


(And notice that it's not so slimming on our chubby bunny?)

The Reason Why...

Longwood Gardens...

the reason why we live here in PA today. The reason that Casey is not a native-West Virginian (like her Mommy) or -Rhode Islander (like Daddy). The (round-about) reason that we moved to Woodbury - and then to Princeton - and then to Philly.

And really, the reason Casey is here to begin with. If we weren't waiting for Tee Jay to get his Master's degree through the Longwood Graduate Program, we wouldn't have gotten pregnant at the exact time that we did, and this gorgeous angel wouldn't be here.


So yesterday, in the absolutely amazing weather that arrived, we headed out to Longwood with friends - Casey's first trip to a place that is a big "reason why." She seemed to enjoy her time!

A Big Revelation...

Our friends Chris and Mary visited from Baltimore for Easter, and they brought baby presents with them when meeting Miss Casey.

One was a little linen sack ("Uncanny! Almost Scary!") with a t-shirt predicting Casey's future occupation. It was a ton of fun to experience the present, which read on the back:

"What will the future hold? WHY WAIT TO FIND OUT!? A talented physician? A skilled actor? Perhaps your child will reap fame and riches beyond all earthly measure. Using the astonishing mental powers of his mind, and the delicate sewing skills acquired from his mother, Mysterio has already predicted your child's future (on a nice tee shirt). Unseal this bag to realize your child's destiny!"

Tee Jay and I excitedly opened Mysterio's sack, and... squealed in delight at what we found!


It must have been because I bowled when pregnant... and because I won my league's championship (yea, Fireballs!) the first year I joined up.

Happy Easter!

Casey colored eggs yesterday and woke this morning to find that the Easter Bunny left her a basket of goodies (mostly for Mommy and Daddy) and a Grover!

And this Grover is special - he has stitching for his eyes, so he's safe and cuddly for Baby. She loves him already!

Blessed Easter to all...

I'll Get Off That High Horse Now...

Casey and I were in the local Christian bookstore yesterday afternoon, checking out with the cashier, when a couple of other shoppers walked in the door. I didn't see the customers, but immediately heard one begin singing along to the song playing on the store's speakers... in Latin. This was enough of a surprise for the clerk to look up at the singer and smile.

It was a nice voice - a male one, but not very deep, more like a Clay Aiken type. I heard the same person then ask, "Would you like this cross pin for your First Communion tie?" and a young boy respond, "Yeah!" I pictured the father and son, letting my mind wander to my own First Communion outfit so many years ago.

As I was pulling out my credit card, I became aware of the two other customers moving through the store to stand behind me, also waiting to pay for their goods.

I signed the credit card slip and began to move away when the cashier looked past me and asked, "So, you know the Latin?" The singer replied, "Oh, yeah, sure! It's a great song. And today is my favorite Holy day of the year."

Before I could stop myself, I turned around and said, "Me, too! I absolutely LOVE Holy Thursday Mass!" I was stunned to be facing a young boy (young man?) who was approximately 13 or 14 years old. This was the person singing in Latin? This was the person helping his younger brother (I would assume) prepare for his First Holy Communion? This was the person who proclaimed his love for a specific day in Holy Week?

Wow... and I thought we were doing good just by bringing Casey to Church and having her Baptized!

Laundry Day...

Casey has just recently grown out of her 'newborn' sized clothing and moved into the '0-3 mos' outfits. Which is awesome for us, because we see her in a new outfit (like this one) every day!

However, we've had a messy time lately.

This morning, I got Casey out of her PJs and into yet another new outfit, one that I was looking forward to showing off to Tee Jay when he got home from work. However, Casey had another idea...

Before we even hit noon, she pooped through the side of her diaper, messing up her under-onesie and the new outfit - and my pants, too! And it wasn't just a little wet spot. No, no, no, it was a mess. A messy mess.

So I took off my pants, pulled off her clothes, and changed the diaper. I pulled a new onesie over Casey's head and then picked her up for a moment to place the next new outfit onto the changing table. As soon as she was up in my arms, she spit up - a really good amount - all over the onesie and my shirt!

I was basically stripped down to nothing when I finally got yet another onesie and the outfit on Casey. I had to get myself cleaned up and dressed, the stained clothes Oxy'd, and prayed that we had no more poop-throughs for awhile.

Thankfully, we didn't. (But, if you must know, later in the day I leaked through a nursing pad, wetting my bra and shirt! More laundry... I'm just grateful we no longer live in an apartment and finally have our own washer and dryer.)

A New Project...

(Special thanks to Stephanie for inspiring this one.)


As if we didn't have enough to do already, Casey and I began making baby wipes today! Yes, folks - homemade baby wipes.

We took a roll of Viva paper towels, cut it in half (to make two toilet-paper sized rolls), removed the cardboard middle (by just fiddling around with our fingers for a minute), and then inserted one half-roll into a Tupperware container with two cups water and one tablespoon each of baby wash and baby oil.

It was as simple as can be, and is great for many reasons!

1) Cost - When looking at bulk packaging only and forgetting about sales or coupons, you can get 576 Huggies wipes (refill pack) for approximately the same price as an 8-pack of Viva Big Rolls - $14.99.

My Big Rolls have 110 sheets each (though new packaging has 115 sheets each), which means that we get 1,760 baby wipes versus the 576 in the Huggies package.

Drum roll, please - the Viva wipes cost me less than a penny each ($0.0085) and the Huggies wipes cost almost three pennies each ($0.026). That may seem like chump change to most, but in today's economy, my bringing home no paycheck right now, and Casey using up to 20 wipes a day (or more!), we're looking at a yearly savings of about $130 (or basically like getting more than 10 free packs of diapers)!

2) Environment - If you want to choose paper towels that are more earth-friendly (like chlorine-free ones) and make your wipes that way, you're free to do so - and you'll still be saving money over chlorine-free baby wipes!

3) Health - By making my own wipes, I can ensure that what's going on Casey's bottom is exactly what I want there. I can use organic, perfume-free, all-natural, you-name-it baby wash and baby oil. (And if I want to, I could add a drop of an essential oil with a wonderful aroma for a sweet smelling baby bottom!)

The set of wipes we made today is round, as in the picture above. But if you have a wipes container for on-the-go or even one built-in to your Pack 'N' Play like we do, you can simply unroll the paper towels (without ripping them apart) and fold them back-and-forth. This is exactly how the Huggies wipes come in the bulk packaging, and the wipes will easily pull one-by-one from your container.

So, moms and dads out there, give it a try - it's fun!

Putting Things Into Perspective...

I have AOL email, so when I log onto it (trying to do so daily, if Casey allows), I always take a minute to read their headlines.

Yesterday, one read: "NBC Signs on Drama for 11th Season" and when I clicked on the link, saw that the ever-successful Law & Order contract was being renewed. The article must have gone on to talk about other shows being extended or canceled, however, because my eye caught the first "reader comment" posted at the bottom, which read:

"I cannot believe they're canceling Prison Break! I've been faithful to it from the beginning and think this is a travesty!"

Tee Jay and I literally laughed and laughed over that and thought, "What a loser!" To us, it's amazing that Prison Break (which we've never watched) wasn't canceled after the first season... you know, the one where they SUCCESSFULLY BROKE OUT OF PRISON????

Later, I thought better of our judgment on the random commenter. Because to put things into perspective, I watch two hours of Seventh Heaven repeats daily.

Who's the loser now?

For Your Viewing Pleasure...

Taking It All...

These days, we're taking the good with the bad. Because Casey makes most of her noise when upset (and since a couple of her grandmothers have expressed sheer delight at hearing her fussing), here is a "content" video and an "upset" one...

Overheard In Our Home...

"They need, like... Sinbad. He'd be good on Celebrity Jeopardy."

"That's random."

"No... I've always imagined Sinbad on Celebrity Jeopardy."



(Talk about a blast from the past!)

April Showers...

I absolutely hate thunderstorms.

Yes, even at the ripe old age of 29, I am actually afraid of both thunder (which cannot harm me, I know!) and lightning. Thunderstorms have freaked me out since I was a child, and though I don't hide my head under the covers as an adult, I still feel very uneasy when a storm comes through.

It has just begun thundering here in the past five minutes, and the world looks gloomy outside.

I feel a bit gloomy on the inside, as Casey has been sleeping in her swing for over two hours now (and yes, I actually miss her when she's sleeping that long, even though I'm in the same room as her!), and our beautiful niece Clare is undergoing an echocardiogram in Dartmouth. I know that I posted last week about how fear isn't from God... but I'm always afraid for my family members, and today, it's Clare's turn.

To be honest, I have been reminded so much lately that this "love stuff" isn't for the weak. When I gave birth to Casey, my immediate love for her was so intense that it has opened me up to the greatest feelings of vulnerability I could have ever imagined (or more so than I could imagine!). To love her is to worry for her and to selfishly think about myself and my pain if she's ever in pain.

Today, I feel the vulnerability for Clare Bear, hoping that her cardiologists can figure out what's going on and help make her upbeat and healthy again. And I feel it for her parents; especially my sister, who is a Mommy like me and must have fears for her children under her incredible display of strength. And I feel it for my own mother, who is Mom to Tree and Grania to Clare and therefore entertains fears on top of fears.

Why should we love one another? Why is love the greatest gift of all? I wish that I didn't have to love all the time... and be exposed to everything that comes with it.

But April showers (and thunderstorms) bring May flowers, right? And these showers are a gift to us, even if we don't know how or why or when those flowers will bloom. We just have to trust.



The Prayer of St. Therese

May you have peace within today. May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content knowing you are a child of God. Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of you who choose to claim it.

Bath Time...

Casey had sponge-baths before her umbilical cord fell off... and then it was on to the real deal in her bath tub.

She cried through the first bathing (with Uncles Tyler and Jake watching along), but has seemed to really enjoy all other bath times. We keep the warm water constantly on her, and she just sits there so cutely, allowing us to get her clean and cuddly!