the Absolute Best News I've Heard All Week Pt 2: Weekend Edition

we finally got out to go see Dr. & Mrs Bri-the-Pie-Guy and their absolutely adorable baby boy (and my soon-to-be Godson), Benjamin Michael! i can't tell you how cute this kid is, in person! The pics, below, will have to suffice...

on top of getting to see and hold the baby, it was just wonderful to spend time with Jenn and Brian; i miss them so much and the few hours we get to spend together are always so fantastic.

the Absolute Best News I've Heard All Week

read it here folks.

Frangelica: Year One

yup, my little angel is a year old today. we were invited to my brother's for cake (mind you, not dinner; just cake). i foresee an extremely short visit.

on christmas, i was told that the outfit we bought her was probably going to be her birthday dress; if being on her father's shit list hasn't taken it out of the running, i'll post a pic or two tomorrow.

Remember This Handsome Devil?

he didn't look nearly as cute the last time i posted pictures of him

that other guy's pretty damn cute, too. it must run in the family. anyway, the little one turns one in a couple of weeks! he's already running and jumping and talking (uncle stephen says it's 'cause his mommy never stops talking). it's almost scary how smart he is...we're talking miles ahead of a couple of my co-workers.

Francesca Angelica 3

Here's another two phone pics from last night, at my mom's birthday dinner. isn't this kid a beaut? i finally saw her with her eyes open! btw: at barely a week old, the kid's already got a nickname which she'll keep for the rest of her life: Frangelica! can you stand it?

Francesca Angelica 2

So, mom and baby came home from the hospital today and i finally got to hold her (baby, not mom)!

we were there for almost 2 hours and she slept the whole time. she didn't even wake up when i switched from one arm to the other...

Francesca Angelica

Here she is folks! i know it's a bit...dark...but it's from my mom's cell phone (ain't no nasty-ass nurse gonna tell Grandma not to take a picture **2 snaps**).
do you see all that hair!?! it's truly amazing.

she and her mom should be coming home from the hospital today, so expect more pictures tomorrow.

"They should've named her Italiana Florenza Bada Bing Boom Botz lol"~ John

This is a Test...This is Only a Test...Pt.2: Really Real

the phone rang at 4:12 am, then it went dead. 10 minutes later it rang again.
this time it was my mother.
We've achieved BABY.
this is not a drill.

i stayed in bed for another 20 minutes, debating with myself, then got dressed and came to work an hour early (6am). did i mention that i'm stuck in NJ all this week? yeah.

as soon as i get all my shit together i'm outta here...

***7am Update***
i can't leave till 1pm.
Cunty doesn't wanna piss of Zeus by asking for me to leave earlier than that.

per my mother: they're breaking her (sis-in-law) water. she's in pain but dozing on and off.
this may take a while...

***9am Update***
per my dad: they're inducing labor now.

***11:45 Update***
my dad just called crying. the most i could make out was that she's going in for a C-section.
i called my mom, but my good friends at Verizon couldn't give us a clear enough signal for me to find out anything more..

**5:19 update***
Francesca Angelica L-------a was born at 12:58pm...6lbs 15oz 18 1/2" long.
mom is fine.
dad is beaming.
the uncles are going shopping...

***next day update**
she's adorable! brown as a nut with a thick black faux-hawk, she looks like a little wizened Troll doll...only cuter! as soon as Nazi nurses allow it, i'll take a couple of phone-pics and post them here.

New Year's Weekend Recap

the holidays are finally over and it's back to work/life as usual. New Years was fun; jenn and brian came over, as planned, but we basically just sat around eating, drinking and talking (we never got to play Taboo, to my disappointment). it was nice and chill; they really are wonderful people and i can't imagine ringing in the new year with anybody else; they've already invited Stephen and i to their place for next year.

my friend, Erin had her Miracle Baby on saturday night, by C-Section. it was a long and arduous process for her and her husband to conceive, but it looks as though he was worth all the doctors, needles and drugs. we swung by the hospital yesterday, dropped off a super-soft teddy bear for the kid and a box of Oreos for mom. he's a cute little guy; Connor James, 21" and 8.something pounds. i'd post a picture, but blogger hates me. mama and child are doing quite well and are set to go home today. now if only my nephew (yes, we have confirmation of a penis) would take a cue and get a move on.

in a truly surprising twist, i got to spend all of Saturday with Squirt. i picked her up for lunch and she wound up coming back home with me. she helped Stephen make a couple of pizzas and we hung out to watch the Incredibles. a good time was had by all and i was most disappointed to take her home at 9. i'm hoping we can make this a regular thing; i miss Uncle David/Squirt time.

Stephen's off from work today, as restitution for having to work New Years Eve, and i'm glad. it'll give him an opportunity to relax a little bit. he's still not feeling 100% and is having a terrible time eating solid foods (you really don't wanna know what happens when he does). i'm hoping he either just takes the time to chill out and couch (verb) or take a ride to the doctor to find out exactly what's wrong with him.

incedentally, how do you like the new color scheme?

This is a Test...This is Only a Test...

stephen called me during the day, yesterday to say he was leaving work because he felt terribly ill. he was there when i got home, at 7, curled up on the couch watching Diamonds Are Forever for the 12th time, on Spike (i think it's the ambiguously gay hitmen). i ran out and picked up some sick-boyfriend-provisions (Apple juice, Ginger Ale, Pastina and Chicken Broth), came home and made him a light supper (of the pastina and broth), made myself some popcorn and then we settled down to watch Buffy and Angel when the phone rang. my sister-in-law was in labor.

i deliberated whether or not go to the hospital, but then felt so guilty (that i'd not been there when my niece was born) that i went. since he was in no shape to leave the house, stephen stayed behind. i called Cunty and let her know i may not be in today and then sped to the hospital at 70mph, somehow avoiding cops and accidents. ironically i got there 5 minutes before my mom, dad, brother and sister-in-law.

she looked relatively calm and relaxed. didn't appear to be in any pain or discomfort, and even mentioned that she took a shower before she left the house. we were ushered out the waiting area where two of her friends, who'd been called en route, were waiting. 2 hours later, we were told that it was a false alarm. there would be no baby tonight. thank you and good night. don't ask me how one can confuse labor with anything else. my mom commended me on my fantastic response time and promised not to call me again till it was definite that the baby was on its way. i told her to do the exact same thing she did tonight. false alarms don't bother me. i'm poised and ready for the next call.

i got home at midnight; stephen was already in bed. when i woke up this morning he seemed much better (but didn't go to work). hopefully he'll be ok to go to the party tonight.

"Shake.... yourself..... loose (Lift..... your hands) Lift your hands (Come on and lets dance) Come on ...lets dance "~ Shake Yourself Loose [Dynamix & Harmeyer mix] (Cissy Houston)

Oooh Baby!

i want a baby.
ok, pick up your jaw while i explain. i don't actually want a baby. i don't like kids...much. i only like them with rules and provisos: i like them in very small doses, no more than once a week, and for no more than a couple of hours at a time. Ward Cleaver, i'm not. i want a baby for the silliest and most selfish reason of all: i love to shop for baby stuff.
when my niece was born, i went crazy: little dresses with matching socks and headbands, jackets with gloves or muffs, skirts with sweaters and tights, jeans with t-shirts and cute little belts; then there were the hats. i LIVED to buy her hats. if an outfit had a matching hat, so did she. i'm a sucker for a little girl in a hat. the best part was that, apparently, i had wonderful taste because she always adored whatever i'd buy her. then, one day, everything changed. she turned six and started wearing boys jeans, t-shits and baseball caps. yup, she became a tomboy. that was four years ago, and now all she wants are Yankee jackets, Nikes and (in a couple of years) a sports bra.

MS e-mailed me yesterday to tell me that her two friends (a gay couple in Connecticut) are adopting twins. she asked where she could find baby clothes geared toward same-sex parents. if you click on the onesie above, you can see the best of the two sites i found! seeing all these baby things really makes it hard to wait for my next niece to be born, though i'll be honest: i was hoping for a nephew to by little sweater vests and baby sized khakis for :)

Balls (Part 4)

the tournament is over and my neice's team are the champions! last night was the last game of the series, and to tell the god's honest truth, it was the toughest game they played. it lasted the entire six innings and up until the last, they score was tied 1 to 1. both teams were evenly matched and watching it was so incredibly tense i almost passed out. in the end, they won 6 to 2. i have no idea where the team goes from here (if there's an inter-borough tournament or what), but she's happy and that's all that matters :)

in other niece/nephew related news...as i may have mentioned, the gals i know are all getting ready to give birth. earlier today Stephen's sister went in for a C-Section and gave birth to a BOUNCING BABY BOY! Evan Nicholas, 7lbs 11 oz. We're gonna drive out to see him and his mommy tomorrow.

"i can't have children...i hate them"~ Dr. Albright (3rd Rock from the Sun)

Baby Fever

almost everyone i know is having a baby:

1. my brother and his wife of 8 months just announced that they are pregnant.
2. his ex-girlfriend (the mother of my niece) and her new husband are 6 months along.
3. my immediate supervisor just announced that she is 3 months pregnant
4. my other immediate supervisor's wife is ready to pop (we're betting on June 6th, just because...)
5. stephen's sister has a few weeks till she's due.

what's going on? is there something in the water? how is it that everywhere i look there are people breeding like bunnies?