Theme Thursday: Halloween

Linking up with Cari of Clan Donaldson for Theme Thursday: Halloween

Two school parades and some Trick or Treating later:

Happy Halloween!!

My mom uniform made a bit better.

   It is an often-repeated adage that you should not only dress for the job you have, but also the one you want; at the moment they are one and the same ~ I want to be a stay at home mom and live out that vocation in such a way that reflects to my daughters and the world around me the pride and enjoyment I have in using my charism for caring primarily to care for my family.  (I teach part-time at a local university one semester a year.)  And how I dress helps with that.

Head over to This Felicitous Life for the rest of my guest post.

Day 26 & 27: Friends & Fans

Day 26: Family Friends

   In my family godparents were given the honorable title of aunt or uncle as did their spouses.  We also used that title for the two URI professors whose home my parents married at.  I don't recall my husband mentioning anyone other than the professor that his dad co-taught with for years.
  We've continue the same tradition regarding our kids god-parents (at least this far).  In addition there are a few other friends that kids refer to as aunt/uncle.

Day 27: Free choice

   As I will be watching a lot of baseball this week I thought I would I write a bit about favorite teams.  My dad was a Red Sox fan and raised me to be too.  It continues to be a bit bittersweet to me that my dad missed seeing the Sox 'reverse the curse' by just a couple of months in 2004.  We were Patriot fans, though living in Northern VA we would root for the Redskins (provided they were not playing the Patriots).
  My husband is a Giants & Mets fan, also since childhood.  Neither of us are die-hards and have even had some fun during the recent couple of Super Bowls where the pairing has been Patriots-Giants.  I did not grow-up watching hockey; Charlie did so we root for the Devils.

Linking up at Not in Jersey for these 31 days

Days 24 & 25

Day 24: Family Careers

   My paternal grandfather was an accountant for a jeweler, his hours were reduced during the Great Depression but never totally went away.  My maternal grandfather wanted to be a doctor but having contracted tuberculosis  in his twenties he was deemed not strong enough for medical school and he had a long and successful career in banking.  My grandmother was a realtor once my mom and her siblings were grown.
   My dad worked mostly in the insurance business though later in his life he managed a Radio Shack and worked as a courier.  My mom's training was in Physical Therapy and worked as a therapist initially when she moved to the US, but given her Belgian degree she had difficulty finding work again after she had taken a break while my sisters and I were small.  Instead she taught french at a local elementary school and worked in the accounting department of a local lumber yard.
   My training is in nursing and midwifery; and I've worked as a nurse, midwife, clinical educator and most recently as a clinical instructor for nursing students.  My husband is pediatrician specialized in hematology/oncology.

Day 25: Family Pets

   Both my husband and I grew up with dogs but there was one particular dog that was 'my' dog.  In my case she (Brandy) was a collie/shepard mix.  We got her when I was ten and she was with us until my junior year of college.  In my husband's case Tinka was also a mutt, mostly terrier with a few other breeds mixed in.  Ironically she also died while Charlie was away at college.  We don't currently have any pets but I'm sure as the kids get older one will join us.

Linking up at Not in Jersey for these 31 days

Day 23 : Education

Day 23: School Days

    I attended public school through high school and then University of Pennsylvania for my BSN and Georgetown for my Master's of Nursing. I believe my dad attended public school through high school and then University of Rhode Island for a business degree.  My mom attended catholic schools in Belgium and I don't remember which university she attended for her degree in Physical Therapy.  Her brother came to the US for his doctorate in economics at ~ URI.
   Charlie attended Catholic Schools including the same high school as his dad; a magnet Jesuit school in Manhattan in NY.  He then attended Washington University for undergrad and U. Penn for graduate/medical school where we met.  Both of his parents attended Rutgers for some of their graduate work and his dad was a Professor of Pharmacology for much of the time Charlie was growing-up.


Linking up with Not in Jersey for these 31 days

Day 21 & 22: Extended Family

Day 21: Extended Family

    I have 6 cousins on my dad's side all much older than me and 4 on my mom's all of whom live in Belgium.  So I grew up with the interesting experience of the cousins closest in age lived the furthest away ~ and vice versa.  Though having older cousins had its advantages; one of my favorite memories is of a special day with one of my 'big' cousins; he first took me to the aquarium in Boston and then Orchard House the home of Louisa May Alcott where she wrote Little Women.
  My husband has two cousins on both sides of his family.  For much of his childhood he and his sister spent summers with his maternal grandparents and with the cousins who lived next door. Our kids have 2 cousins on their dad's side and 5 on mine.


Day 22: Famous Members

    Today's prompt was about famous members of your family; one of my cousins plays in a Jazz group well known in his area, the son of another cousin is gaining national recognition in collegiate cross country biking.  My husband's area of research is bio-informatics and as electronic medical records become more common he has been invited to speak at various hospitals.  My sister's 5th book is about to be released, her fourth reached the best-seller list in USA today.

Linking up with Not in Jersey for these 31 days.

Day 19: Siblings

Day 19: Siblings

Top of some cliff in VA 

I have 3 siblings; 2 younger sisters and a much older half brother.  My half-brother is almost 17 years older than me and so has been a wonderful if sporadic presence in my life.  Most recently he thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail the summer of 2010 and 2011, and both times came off the trail by me in Pennsylvania to make use of our shower, washer & dryer and catch-up on life.


 My sisters and I have had the usual ~ fought our way thru childhood, become good friends in adulthood relationship.  They both live in VA within a miles of each other and have 2 and 3 kids respectively.  Charlie has one sister with whom I also have a good relationship.  She and her husband have two kids, one of whom is only 9 days younger than Lisbeth; they live in MA but the sister/cousins have a blast whenever we are able to all get together.

My mom, sisters and me with our kids summer '10