Rya D Captured By Ella G

My friend, Ella Gamba, took these shots of Rya at the Boone Hall Plantation a few days ago.  I'm thankful to have such a talented friend who can capture a moment so beautifully and I'm thankful to have a daughter that can make a moment so beautiful.  If you're interested in hiring Ella, she is very reasonably priced, works well with children, is a total sweetheart and can be contacted via email- ellgmb@gmail.com.

Summer Days Are Drifting Away

We've been getting in as much pool and beach time as possible before the summer slips away.  The temperature still remains in the high 80's so we hope to squeeze out a few more weeks playing in the pool and lounging at the beach.  Summer 2010 was a memorable one—we had lots of visitors, made some great friends and hosted and attended lots of parties.  I don't want this summer to ever end.  I’m sad to see the season change. 

Her First Word Was...

Rya's pediatrician recommended that she be assessed by a speech therapist since she's still not speaking.  After the assessment, Rya was diagnosed developmentally delayed and it crushed me.  How on earth did my BIG MOUTH spawn a child that won't speak!?  She will be meeting with a speech therapist once a week and it's paid for by the State as early intervention.  I think she saw how upset I was and understood that we were worried about her so this week she just started spitting out words.  Her first word was PLEASE (I'm a proud mom!).  Followed by ball, hi, hot, dog, no, mine.  Go Rya, I knew you had it in you to be a big mouth like your Mama. 

OMG, BFF on the IOP

Yesterday we spent the afternoon at the Isle of Palms with Rya's bestie, Riley.  They're adorable together!  It was a perfect day for the beach... mid 80's, nice breeze and hardly a soul in sight. 

Spin Marathon

On September 11th, my crazy friend Jean and I did a two and a half hour spin marathon at the Mount Pleasant Memorial Park to benefit the East Cooper Community Outreach program. 

This is us before the race. 

And after. 

Labor Day Weekend

For Labor Day Weekend, we went camping in our backyard.  Since I've never been camping, this was a test to see if I could handle the great outdoors.  I did just fine with a bathroom and shower close by, a plush Coleman mattress with high thread count Egyptian cotton sheets and a kitchen to make my coffee and meals.  I am a wilderness woman... hear me roar!  

   

On Labor day we set up the jumpy castle/water slide and invited neighbors and friends over for an impromptu breakfast gathering... Coffee, donuts, beignets and cinnamon rolls.  It was a great weekend! 

O'Brions Irish Pub and Grill

Look what just opened a stone's throw from my house and guess who got a job there?!  Yup, every Irish pub needs a sassy-mouthed Coleen! 

Surprise Visit

Look who popped by for a quick pit stop on their way to Newburyport from Florida!  My Uncle Ricky and Aunt Joanie surprised us with a quick visit on Saturday afternoon.  It was so impromptu and so nice to see them even if it was just for a few minutes. 

Swindell Stopover

My cousin Michelle and her husband Michael came for a short but sweet visit. They arrived late Friday evening to ice cold beer, snacks, chit chat, laughs and many games of darts.

 

  

Saturday morning Michelle impressed the kids by making "puffs".  Puffs are mini fried dough and a Currier family tradition.  The smell wafting through the house brought us back to Sunday morning family gatherings at Mimi and Papa's... and that triggered an anxiety attack, a craving for Vicodin and a frantic phone call to my therapist, but I digress.  For lunch we took a quick stroll through the open air market downtown Charleston and then to Fleet Landing for lunch where we ate fried green tomatoes, peel and eat shrimp and crab cakes.   After lunch we hung out on the crab dock with all our Masshole buddies where we fished, drank lots of beer, shared a potluck dinner and went boating, swimming and tubing. 

After a Sunday morning coffee run to Dunkin Donuts, they left for their vacation to Myrtle Beach.  It was so good to see them even if it was for such a short visit and we hope they come again and stay a little longer next time! 

Currier's Drawing

He said it's a picture of him falling off a block with his pee pee hanging out of his pants!  WTF? 

Friday Favorites- Mini Waffle PB&J

I invented the mini waffle PB&J and it's Currier's favorite!

Paolo loves em too!

Jenny From The Block

Jenny, a fellow Newburyporter and 1991 graduate, is in town for a conference so we hosted a Lowcountry boil at our house last night to kick off her week in Charleston.  Jenny's brother Jonathan and his wife Oanh just moved here to Charleston to open a restaurant (Yup... Massholes are taking over down here!) so we had them, their son Tennyson, their newborn son Julien and Oanh's mom over too.    

We ate, drank, chatted, laughed, and then drank some more!

And then "someone" had the bright idea of going to Richard's to drink more and of course Stacey, another Newburyporter, came along for the ridiculous, silly, hiccupy ride!  Good times!

Currier

Currier is finally writing his name without any help.  This masterpeice was created at the gym daycare.  It's a picture of me lifting weights. 

Tante Auguri Paolo

It was five years ago today that we found Paolo all skin and bones with his mouth taped shut in a boat yard near Portopalo, Sicily.  I cried and cried until Trent agreed that I could take the puppy home.  The vet warned me that Paolo probably wouldn't make it through the night.  Paolo had an advanced respiratory infection and his nose was so badly deformed that he could barely breathe, but with lots of love and special care (two operations, nebulizer treatments and countless medications) here he is five years later! We couldn't imagine our family without this little guy.  Happy birthday my sweet Sicilian Hound—You're the best dog ever!