Day 6: No place like home

Day 6: Homes

    We moved quite a bit when I was young; I came home to a home in MA which I don't remember living at but we visited years later; moved to a house in RI when I was 2 which I remember a bit since we lived there till I was 4 1/2 when we moved south.  My parents rented a house for a year while a house was being built in Maryland.  It is from that house I went to kindergarten, learned to ride a bike, roller skates and hosted sleep-overs.
   When I was 9 1/2 we moved to Northern VA and that is the house I lived in the rest of my time with my parents including when I attended graduate school.  An end-unit townhouse on large circle with a park in the front and a nature preserve in the back.

While my paternal grandfather was still living in a house that my father had spent some of his life in when I was born he died when I was two so I barely remember him and don't have any memories of the house.  My maternal grandparents were still living in the home my mom lived in as a teenager when I was young and that house I do have many memories of.

All three of our children have been brought home to this house that we bought as newlyweds, a 1950's built Cape Cod ~ we are outgrowing it and have started thinking of moving but will carry with us so many memories some of which I hope at least our oldest will share in.

Please visit Not in Jersey for other take on this prompt

Day 5: Babies (31 days)

Day 5: Babies

   I don't know much about either of my parent's birth.  My paternal grandmother died before I was born and it somehow never came up with my dad that I can recall.  He too is gone now but his younger brother by about 18 months might have some details.  They (the older of four kids) were both born in the late 1920's so perhaps at home.  All I know about my mom's is that she was born in a hospital and was the biggest of my maternal grandmother's babies.  My mom was born in Belgium in April of 1945 and so somewhere there is a great picture of her at three weeks or so held by her older brother at a V-E celebration.

  I was also suppose to be born in April but for whatever reason labor did not start and even stranger my mother's doctor let her go a full month (never happen now) past.  So late on the 17th of May my mom was having irregular contractions at a prenatal appointment and licm ving a good distance away her doctor admitted her figuring she would be in good labor by the morning ~ luckily for me a nurse decided to put my mom on the monitor that night just to check how the baby (me) was doing with these early contractions (terribly) and even luckier a partner in the practice where my mom was going happened to be in the hospital ~ I was born by emergency c-section and was quite ill for awhile and was first in the hospital where I was born for a couple of weeks and then transferred to Boston Children's for another couple of weeks. So expected mid-April ~ came home mid-June.
Charlie's was on a Sunday morning and by report relatively low-stress and lovely.

I started this blog when Lisbeth was 9 months and have yet to write out her birth story (a goal for the month perhaps); the quick version is ~ a week overdue; 24-36 hours of prodromal earlier labor, appointment on Monday morning finds that I've dilated to 4 cm but there is essentially no fluid surrounding the baby so we augment my labor with Pitocin, a narcotic that makes me paranoid, an epidural that does not fully wear off for a day and a half but finally at 9:44 pm a sweet baby girl :).

Links to the other two:
Liam's
Caitlin's

Baby Elisabeth

Meeting Liam

Sisters together

Following Dara's lead for these 31 days

Day 4 ~ Family Beginnings

Day 4: Describe your family beginnings

   My parents met at a Cumberland Farms (small grocery) that my dad was managing.  It was near the hospital my mom was working at, she was out of milk and with the weather calling for a bad thunderstorm she went quickly there rather than the store closer to where she lived.  I believe both sets of grandparents met at parties though in my paternal grandparent case I think friends were intending to introduce them so perhaps in their case blind date/party.

  I actually wrote out Charlie and my backstory earlier this year, but summary version is we met at the Newman Center (Catholic Student Center) at the University of Pennsylvania where he was in graduate school and I was in nursing school.


Backstory Part 1
Backstory Part II
Backstory Wrap-up

Following the writing props of Dara of Not in Jersey
during these 31 days hosted by the Nester

Quick Takes # 144 ~ Brain Dump

1. Dr Daddy is on-call all week and so far so good, though the service was so busy he actually worked last week in return for some back-up help this coming weekend.  The older two are asking after him a lot but seem to be dealing ok with the whole 'Daddy still at the hospital' at bedtime. 
2. Government Shut-down: Annoyed but not really effected. Heart and prayers go out to those for whom this effects their health and wellbeing.
3. Hoping it is all resolved before the Little Flower Run as I was planning on run/walking at Valley Forge Park ~ which is currently closed.  
4. Weather: What the what??? The week started fine, 70's in October ~ ok I can wear a short sleeve shirt with my jeans and stick with iced Coffee with my pumpkin doughnut but 80's is just not right.
5. Took the hint again from my fashion guru Ana and picked up a pair of these; and I agree quite the fall shoe find!!
6. Took the kids to a local big garden when Lisbeth had a teacher workday off and for the first time they each took a real interest in the different flowers. We then headed off the children's corner of the garden where much fun was had in the pumpkin maze.
7. If you are still reading these bizarre brain dump of a set of Takes ~ Thank you ~ Have a lovely weekend.

Please head over to Conversion Diary more Quick Takes.

Day 3: What's in a name

Day 3: Let's talk names

 My maiden name is an English/Scottish version of the German meaning lion and my married name means the outer courtyard of a castle or someone who lives there.

My first name was chosen by my dad; my mom a) sure that I was a boy and b) having a favorite name she wanted to use let my dad take the lead in selecting the 'girl' name.  Joy had been a favorite of his since he knew someone by that name in college.  I was born in '73 and when my mom first heard his choice she thought it sounded too much like the names Hippies were using;  Sunshine & Peace-like ~ but stuck to the deal and quickly came to love the name.  My middle name Marie-Hazel are my grandmothers names.

My husband is a junior; his first name is his paternal grandmother's maiden name and his grandfather's first name is his middle.  As it happens both his grandfather's had versions of the same name as their first name.

Elisabeth (our oldest) is my favorite girl name since I'm a teenager and her middle names are family names from both our families.

My husband did not want our son to be 'a third' but did like the idea of him having the same initials as his dad and grandfather.  Liam was our favorite boy name starting with 'L'.

Finally Caitlin is my husband's favorite girl name (returning the favor from getting my favorite first time round) and again we used family names as her middle names.

Love 'name stories'; please share some of yours.

Linking up with Dara for 31 days of family writing fun.

Day 2 ~ The Roots of the Tree (31 days)

Day 2

     I come from two very different backgrounds; on my mom's side I'm Belgian ~ as in I'm first generation American since my mom was born and raised in Belgium coming to the United States in her twenties to work.  She later met my dad and marrying made her life here.  Her older brother had come to U.S to study but went back to Belgium after earning his degree.  My grandparents (her parents) were both born in Belgium.  My mom grew up in Brussels (the capital) and is French speaking though her father's family was originally from Holland, coming to Belgium I don't know when.

On my dad side I am New England mutt; we didn't come over on the Mayflower or anything notable but have lived in the region for so long when the family came to the U.S has passed from family history; a mix of English, Scottish and German.  My father was born in Rhode Island (me too); and I believe his dad was born in Massachusetts and his mom in Maine but should clarify that with my uncle at some point.

My husband is 3rd/4th generation Irish on his dad's side and 3rd/4th generation Polish/Croatian on his mom's side.  His family of origin incorporated traditions from both cultures some of which we are trying to continue with ours.

31 days ~ 2013: The Story of My Family

Every year The Nester hosts a grand link-up of bloggers posting on a particular topic throughout October.  Last year I followed the writing prompts offered by Lisa Jo and really enjoyed the experience  ~ and so I'm going to give it a whirl again, this year following the prompts of Dara of Not in Jersey

Day 1: A family photo; a challenge and a pleasure ~ taking pictures of my family is a great pleasure to me but getting all five of us in a photo is a bit of a challenge.