...and summer has begun...

Here are some highlights from the past few months:

Edward is getting big!

Rhubarb season at the DeGaetano homestead:

Rhubarb pie, Rhubarb muffins, Rhubarb cobbler, Rhubarb sauce...

Enjoying our reusable popscicle sticks...

...lots and lots!

Josephine's annual birthday fishing trip with Dad - caught a good-sized walleye - we had fried fish for dinner that night!

Showing off the big catch with Dad!

Happy 4th birthday! Cherry swirl cheesecake, as per Josephine's request

Me showing off my nostaglic candy (yes, those are enormous candy buttons) that Lou got me for my 30th - "to keep me a kid at heart" :)

Maria showing off the three small fish she caught on her annual birthday fishing trip with Daddy

Opening presents with her good friend Gavin from VA

Blowing out the candles - 7 years old!!

The birthday cake made by Mommy (the holes are from the candles). Maria requested a "grown-up" chocoalte cake with choclate frosting. "I want dark chocolate frosting, not kid frosting, Mom, so it will be like a grown-up cake" What can I say? The girl has good taste.

Edward's first trip on the boat. Doesn't he look comfy?

Father and son getting ready for his first boat ride. We were excited - Edward was ambivalent.

The girls posing in their birthday dresses from Grandma Linda (they LOVE to wear matching clothes, believe it or not)

And Edward is getting stronger! Not really crawling, but scooching around a bit, and already into everything. Yesterday, we spotted his first tooth cutting through! Over 8 months old already - sigh, they grow up too fast... :)

More fun times and adventures to come - bring it on, summer!

In search of Zwieback Toast...

Have you ever tried this stuff for young teething babies?


It is AWESOME! Hard enough to feel good on teething gums, but eventually after being gummed long enough, small mushy pieces come off in baby's mouth and are a tasty treat. They don't break easily, so they are not a choking hazard, and are so dense that the pieces that baby does gum off are just small mushy safe-to-swallow pieces. My kids have all LOVED them, and since they chew for a while to get bites off, they keep them busy for a looooong time, which is a lifesaver during that classic "let's get cranky while Mom's making dinner" time.

Only one problem - THEY AREN'T SOLD ANYMORE!!! Aaaaaaaaa!!! I discovered this when I went to get a new box for Edward. I had originally found a box in the back of the cupboard from when Josephine was younger (yes, I fed my baby expired teething toast - bad mommy, bad mommy - but I swear they tasted just fine!). Anyhow, Edward LOVED them, and so I went to get more - no luck at Wegmans or Walmart. I looked them up online only to find out that both Nabisco AND Gerber stopped making them a year ago - BOO! There is basically no other product out there like them. And no, the Gerber Biter Biscuits are not a good alternative. They make a super nasty mess, and since big chunks break off, they are a choking hazard for young babies (I know this from personal experience, I am sorry to say). Eddie is obsessed with feeding himself lately, but all the options out there are too old for him - he just gags and chokes. What's a Mom to do?!


Well, while online, I fell upon a recipe for Zwieback toast, and since I was feeling adverturous, I decided to give it a try.

Yes, I know, mouth watering, isn't it. :)

I made a bunch, and it looks and smells and tastes almost identical to the stuff that I used to buy - I was so proud...

...too bad that after a few pieces, Edward decided that Zwieback toast was soooo last week, and he was ready for something new. He now uses the toast as a launching device everytime I offer it to him. Dang it.

So, my problem was unresolved. He wants so badly to feed himself, and whines and cries all through dinner, begging for us to throw him food until Lou gives in and feeds him tiny pieces of bread all meal long - this gets old very quick, because he constantly whines and tries to grab the whole piece and stuff it all in his mouth and choke himself to death. Silly boy.

Then I discovered these through some more online searching:

So far I've only seen them at Walmart and they are wonderful! Totally safe for younger babies - they dissolve almost instantly when bitten, so no choking hazard. Edward LOVES them!! The only problem I see is that he eats them too fast, so they don't keep him as busy as the Zwieback toast did, and are not as good as a teething option, but at least he gets his fill at feeding himself, which he is obsessed with lately. Anyhow, just wanted to share this great find with other Moms who might be having my same dilemma!

One for the books

Lou got me, and he got me good. He threw me a surprise birthday party today, and no, I had no clue that it was going on. I'm sure everyone there could tell that quite easily by that "oh crap, what the heck is going on?!" look on my face when I walked into my mother's backyard and saw 30 people there with decorations everywhere yelling "SURPRISE!!!"

The food was great, the company was great, the decorations were wonderful (including a digital slideshow of me from birth to present) and I have always secretly wanted a surprise party, so overall, it was just awesome. My family and friends really came together and honestly, it was quite touching. I actually teared up a bit after I got over my shock. I never thought Lou would do anything like this for me (not out of callousness, I just didn't think it would ever occur to him to organize a party), and I was amazed at how much he and my family did to pull it off.

One of my favorite parts was the e-invites that he sent out (he showed them to me after we got home). They were soooo cute. Click here to check them out and see why I think he is one of the sweetest guys ever (make sure to read the captions under the pictures).

Anyhow, thanks everyone who came, and those who were too far away to be here, I wish you could have been, and I thought about you today. I have some great family and friends, that much I will say.

So maybe turning 30 isn't so bad after all... :)

80's extras

Okay so I forgot some:

Another fun one! We loved the character "Gadget"

"Scrooge McDuck"

You can't skip these guys:

"I am the keymaster" "I am the gatekeeper"

Cultural icon of the 80's

I wanted to be Princess Lea soooo bad!

Proud to be an 80's child

So, my birthday came and went, and NO I don't feel any older. :) I got some really nice gifts, and this awesome card:

Wow, I can answer "yes" to all of those (side ponytail, not mullet) - how about you? My family even owned a Commodore 64, and I thought we were SO cool because of it. I also went to see the New Kids in concert when they came to Syracuse - good stuff.

Anyhow, it got me all nostalgic for the great stuff from my 80's childhood, so I went looking for pictures from way back then of shows, toys, etc. See how many of these you recognize...

I loved this show!!! "Don't encourage your mother" "I heard that" "Water" meant water on the head, and "I don't know" meant you got slimed.

Do you remember this one - The Getalong Gang?

My Mom refused to buy these for us, but she did make us some (yes, you read that right - she MADE us Cabbage Patch dolls with cloth heads instead of plastic) - I still have mine. She's a redhead and her name is Susie.

Ah, Pac-Man. We ate Pac-Man cereal, Pac-Man Spaghettios - loved this guy. And Mrs. Pacman was even cooler!

Transformers!!!

I loved all G.I. Joes, but of course my favorite was Lady Jane.

Voltron!! My sister had Voltron sheets. I still have the pillowcase to them - yes I am an incurable packrat.

This one I think is not as common - Herself the Elf!

My favorite was Wish Bear. I have the official Care Bear movie - it's great.

"Space Ghost, from coast to coast"

What the heck were these things supposed to be, anyway?

Another strange but wonderful 80's creation.

The world's favorite blue people

Do any of you remember her? Man, I loved that show.

Aaaaaa!!! One of my absolute FAVORITES!! I had tons of the dolls - Glimmer, Perfumia, Catra, and even the She-Ra Castle.

I have the movie to this one, too.

Man, I had so many of these: Majesty, Applejack, Windy, Lickety Split, a couple that I can't remember the names of, and two of the babies. And yes, I had the pony castle, too.

I think I still have my old Strawberry Shortcake doll packed away somewhere...

Captain Caveman!!

Does anyone remember these guys?

The show "Pinwheel" - "Pinwheel, pinwheel, spinning around, look at my pinwheel, and see what I've found!"

I had the purple one (not pictured here) named Pancake

Another show that may not be remembered as well. The guy in the back was a manakin who came to life on the show - kind of creepy now that I think of it...

I had a really cool Poochie nail kit back in the day, and I still have the case for it. I had a couple of cool stamps, but my girls have trashed them, so I finally threw them away.

Are there any 80's favorites of yours that I forgot?

Aging gracefully...or not.

Bleh - tomorrow is my birthday. And I am turning...ugh, I can't even say it (or write it) out loud...thirty. Did you see that? It rhymes with dirty, and belongs in the same category, if you ask me. I don't know why, but I have had a really hard time with this birthday. Everytime I have thought about my birthday this year, I get all depressed. I told Lou that I didn't even want to celebrate it this year, and yes, I was serious. What a baby, right? He's kept asking me what I want, pestering me over and over, and at one point, I answered: "How about a time machine?" Okay, so it's not like I want to be 18 again - ew, no way, but a rewind back to about 25 would be nice - mature enough to be taken seriously, but not, you know, the age that rhymes with "dirty". It just seems like such a lame-o age, like the end of youth and the beginning of dying. Am I being melodramatic? Of course. But then again, that's me. I've thought of my top five "dislikes" about getting older - let's see if any of you can relate:

#1) The generation gap, aka sounding like my parents.
Example: Back in January, right before I was released from YW, I was teaching a Wednesday night class on Public Speaking Tips. One of my tips was to not talk too fast. At one point I said, "You don't want to be up there sounding like the micro-machine man", with a chuckle. They all looked at me with this confused look, and I realized - They had NO idea who the micro-machine man WAS! Oh, man, I just made some archaic cultural reference, just like my Dad used to do when I was a kid - bummer. I am old.

#2) Physical problems, aka old people crap.
Example: Every once in a while, my knee hurts all day for no reason. Everytime I crouch down, I get shooting pain. It lasts for a day, then goes away. And if I am kneeling down too long, when I get up I'm all achy and stiff. I went to do a somersault yesterday in the backyard (at my girls' request), and man, it KILLED! It hurt my head, my neck, my back. Whaf da heck? Aren't I too young for random aches and pains? Obviously not. I am old.

#3) The death of youthful looks, aka night cream, anyone?
Example: It's not bad enough that I still get zits and have bad pores, do I have to start getting tiny fine lines on my face, too? Okay, so the average person can't see them unless they are pressing their face to mine, but they are THERE dang-it. The thought of needing anti-aging cream makes me nauseated, but the thought of being all wrinkly actually might make me puke just a little, because I'm old.

#4) Wardrobe issues, aka you are too old to wear that, lady.
Example: Okay, so I'm not ready to get a helmet haircut or turn myself over to Talbots, but I am at an age where I can't just wear whatever I want - some stuff is now "too young" for me - period. Sometimes I'll look at stuff and it's obvious, but other times it's like "Can I wear this? Is it too young for me?" I'm guessing that if I am even asking myself that, the answer is yes. Because, you know, I am old.

#5) The cultural stigma, aka, your youth has officially ended.
Example: 20's is still young, but for some reason, once you hit 30, you are just not considered truly "young" anymore. You are supposed to wear "mom" hair, and "mom" clothes, wear night cream, and be all...old. If you talk about current pop culture in front on teenagers, half of them might think it's cool, and the other half are all "why do you even know about that stuff? You are old."

Ick, yuck, blech, blah - the whole thing just bites. I never felt like I had issues with getting older until this birthday, and at the same time I so don't want to be one of those woman who clings to her youth with some sort of desperation and acts all pathetic about it...although from the looks of this post, it's too late for that. :)

So, my question is, can any of you think of anything cool about turning thirty? Cuz I'm coming up zero.