It was a long week. It was a tough week. It was an extremely emotional week. Yet, we did pull through and at the very end of the week, stood my baby boy's Baptism. How very happy I was to have a celebration to look forward to after a week filled with sadness and many tears. The day could not have been more perfect! The weather was absolutely gorgeous and somehow by the grace of God I had planned everything just right so that there was no stress and no rushing around. The Lord was definitely present!

Auntie Jill and Uncle Dave had come over early enough so Jill could dress baby Cameron. It is the Italian tradition to have the Godmother dress the baby into his Baptismal attire. This attire was bought by the Godparents and it was just so perfect for Cameron. It's golden ivory tone was exactly what I had wanted. We were able to get some pictures out on the deck as well with plenty of time to spare!

Cameron looked dashing in this Baptism attire and he was so very good in Church! He is just the sweetest little boy! Father Najim performed the hat trick as he had Baptized the girls as well. Just this time the venue was different as we are now parishioners of St. Augustine's. The whole ceremony was beautiful and personal being that it was private. The girls looked gorgeous in their fancy dresses and I was just so happy to be celebrating this day with the family. After the week that had passed, I made sure to say an extra prayer of thanks that I still had so many loving family members surrounding us. What a truly remarkable day as my baby Cameron entered into his Catholic faith!

The reception was FANTASTIC! I absolutely adore Via Roma and all of it's Italian ambiance! It was exactly how I had imagined it. The cake was GORGEOUS and tasted simply delicious as it was from Scialo Brothers Bakery up on Federal Hill as well. I will most certainly be ordering from them again! The photographs that I had taken of Cameron were the perfect centerpieces along with the hydrangeas I had dried from our yard. Mom Murphy had whipped up some scrumptious chocolate covered Oreo cookie favors and they were so yummy as well. (Rumor has it that Miss Julie was devouring them when the guests weren't looking!) HA! It all goes to that new niece or nephew I will be having in less than two months! The food was phenomenal and everyone remarked about it. The ambiance.. well it was just perfect. A family celebration set to Sinatra and Bennet, who could ask for anything more? I can't thank our parents and Jill & dave enough for helping to make this such a spectacular day!

I am surely saying my prayers this week. Last week is gone but I am still keeping Helen and her family in these prayers as well as Peter, Tammi & Brenna. I wish there were something more I could do, but I will certainly keep the prayers coming.

Onward to planning a 3rd Birthday Party for Miss Layla Cakes!

Dear Lord,

Please keep this man safe

Protect him from harm

Wrap his family in your embrace

Return him to us safely

Peter, thank you for making the ultimate sacrifice to protect us and our Country. We love you and can't wait for your safe return. 364 more days!

Mr. Revis

It is most sincerely with a heavy heart that I sit down to write about this beloved man, Mr. Revis. I was 5 years old when I first met this man named, Costa, Gus, Tony or how I referred to him as, Mr. Revis. I remember then being so confused as to what his name REALLY was since all these names were used so interchangeably when people spoke to him. Sometimes, the same person would use all three in the same sentence when speaking to him or speaking about him! Yet I was 5 years old and his daughter Helen and I had just met in Kindergarten. We didn't know it yet, but Helen and I were going to remain in each other's lives for years to come. Helen introduced me to Tracey and from then on, the three of us nourished a friendship that would last a lifetime.

One of the things that made Helen and my friendship grow was the fact that we were raised very similarly. She, Greek and me, Italian, we both grew up in households where our fathers were quite strict. We were Daddy's little girls and they would do everything in their power to keep us safe and sound. Something Helen and I couldn't quite understand back then, but now that we are adults, raising daughters of our own, we can truly appreciate. Both Mr. Revis and my father ran businesses in the town of Smithfield. Pizza and chicken. Two totally different establishments but Helen and I both saw our Dads work an enormous amount of hours when we were young. We were taught the meaning of a dollar at an early age. We were taught to value these restaurants even though there would come times when I know we would both loathe them. These are just a few of the things that bonded Helen and I together in friendship. At the very root of it all stood my Dad and Mr. Revis. We continued on in school and expanded our group to eventually 3 more. Valerie, Andrea and Sara joined us and for the most part, we were known as the 6 musketeers. The 6 of us will always have some really wonderful memories to look back on and for that I am grateful. I am also grateful that we somehow have remained in each other's lives despite living states apart, raising families and nourishing careers. I think it is safe to say that our bond cant be broken after 30 years of friendship.

Mr. Revis adored Helen in such a way that it was evident in everything that he did. He was always so proud of her and all of her accomplishments and he surely couldn't wait to pass on Helen's endeavors to the rest of the town. He was that proud of her and not in such a way as to gloat, but in a way as to say, "My daughter is my pride and joy and I am so proud of the woman she has become." Helen was always his Greek Princess and rightfully so. He was just as proud of his son Costa. Costa followed in the family footsteps and one could always find him behind the counter at Tonys from the time he was a little boy. You see, Mr. Revis owned and operated Tony's Pizza Palace which was just a short walk (across a usually very dangerous) street. Year after year there would be times throughout the day where I would be driving by and there he was crossing the street to head back to the restaurant or to head home after a long, hard day's work. When Helen got married to Brian and had her two little blessings, Mr Revis would love to keep me updated on the girls and their exciting news. He adored going to their dance recitals and for them, the sun rose and set on their Papu. There is one picture that is standing out in my mind that I saw of Olivia and Mr. Revis after her dance recital a few years back. He had given her flowers and he was walking to the car carrying her. He had such an adoring look in his eyes as he looked at her. It was such a precious image that I never forgot about it.

I use to love to go over to Helen's house to play or to go into the restaurant for the main reason being that Mr. Revis had this way of making you feel like the most important person in the world. It didn't matter who you were, you were treated like family the minute you walked through the door of his home, or the door of the restaurant, which in essence was just an extension of his living room. For me personally, there was always a "KERRI!" shouted the moment he would lay eyes on me. Simultaneously as he would boom out my name in his Greek accent, his arms would extend wide ready for that big hug. Never was there a greeting without a hug and a how are you. Never, was there anything less than this big huge greeting that made you feel like a million bucks. Like royalty.

I used to get a big kick out of going over to Helen's and listening to her parents talk. I LOVED their accent and her Mom was always equally as sweet as her father. The house ALWAYS smelled of delicious Greek food and there was at least one cat (Lucky?) roaming about the home who sometimes got even better treatment than Helen or Costa.. if that is at all possible! The Revis's always made sure you felt at home whether you were in their house or at the restaurant. Mr. Revis always checked in with us as well to make sure we were walking the straight and arrow. "Kerri, how you doing in school? You doing well? You getting A's? You have to get A's you know to be successful in America." Then there were Helen's birthday parties at the restaurant. Nothing beat those. Nothing could even come close to the taste of Tony's pizza and well hey... a girl could surely get sick of eating chicken so often and just want that pizza. I was probably only 6 years of age when I knew the phone number to Tonys by heart because it was a place my entire family frequented and still frequent. It didn't matter what time we went either.. Mr. Revis was always there to greet us.

A few short years ago we held an unofficial "Cancer Sucks" pizza party at the restaurant for our friend Shannon who was making her way through becoming a two time breast cancer survivor. Mr. Revis was there because.. well..when wasn't he? He just LOVED seeing all these classmates of Helen's. He had a smile on that night bigger than any one I had previously seen. I know he was so proud to be part of something for Shannon as well. He was beaming with happiness that we were all there, in his "living room" celebrating Shannon's cancer free night. He was happy to contribute to that special evening of joy and I remember sitting there as a 30 something, feeling the exact same way I did as a teenager. The ambiance never changed and there was just something so very special about that.

I have so many wonderful memories of this man and the entire Revis family that it would be impossible to list them all. Throughout the years Helen and I stayed friends and I am happy to say that we still try and get together once a month or so to catch up on life. I always look forward to this adult time and it is always followed by a lot of laughter. My Helen, is like her father in having the ability to make people feel comfortable and at ease around her. She is a jack of all trades like her Dad. She succeeds at whatever she puts her mind into doing and she is not afraid of hard work. Something I surely don't tell her enough is how very smart I find her. She is one of the most intelligent women that I know and she is so very strong and determined. She is a WONDERFUL mother and a fabulous wife. For me, she was always that person. That person that could do it all and make it look easy. I look up to her. Mostly because she knows what she wants, she knows what is best and she stops at nothing to achieve it.

And then there came this day that seemed to have happened way too soon. I got the text early Saturday morning and couldn't press my fingers to dial her number fast enough. Surely she was going to tell me that it wasn't true. She texted me wrong. There was some mistake. As soon as I heard her voice, I knew it wasn't. How I wish that there was something I could do to make this the slightest bit easier on her, on the girls, Brian, on Mrs. Revis and Costa. Life doesn't make sense sometimes. What I find comforting for myself and something I think that in time the entire Revis family will find comforting is the fact that Mr. Revis was sort of an icon in Smithfield. It sounds silly to say that but it's the truth. As this news has spread, the entire town is in disbelief and is mourning him as well. I guess I never thought of him in that respect because he was Helen's Dad. He was an extension of Helen.. but when I sit here and truly think about it.. he didn't just treat me like that princess... He treated everyone who walked through his doors like that. He has touched so many people and it is so comforting to know how well loved he was and always will be by how everyone is reacting to this news.

Mr. Revis, you will be missed. I just can't fathom walking through those doors of the restaurant and not seeing you. I just cant fathom it. But I will be comforted by all the times I was able to relish in your exuberant greeting when I did walk through those doors. I will be comforted by the fact that I just knew you and what a remarkable family man you were. You worked so hard your entire life. As Helen said, you only knew one speed. I wish for you eternal peace now. You can rest. Helen is strong and we will help her get through this. The 6 musketeers will pull together and we will continue to make you proud. We love her and we love you. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to know you and for continuing to teach me the true meaning of family every time I walked through your doors. You are going to be so very missed, but I can promise you... that you will never be forgotten. Rest peacefully Mr. Revis as you surely deserve those angel wings.

Where's That Mother of the Year Award?

Once again I have been nominated for the "Mother of the Year" award. Sheesh.. I'll tell ya. We started out well with Hannah and school and it quickly crumbled. Her first three days went smooth without much todo. The long weekend came and then Tuesday morning arrived. I walked her to the play area and sat in the car to watch her to be sure she would be okay until it was time to enter the building. (I'll get into the school's safety issues in due time). In the blink of an eye I see her wailing. I run out of the car to her and realized that she had fallen and had skinned her knee. With that skinned knee came a massive meltdown. Crying hysterically she begins to tell me that she in fact does not like school at all and has been lying about liking it. She doesn't want to go and she wants to stay with me. At which point she grasped onto my legs and wouldn't let go for dear life. I was so completely taken aback that I don't think I spoke for a few seconds. My Hannah? Not want to run right into school? Wants to be with ME? This is COMPLETELY uncharacteristic of Hannah. She is my independent, eager to learn new things, can't wait to be with my friends, Hannah. WHAT HAPPENED? She was obviously not letting go so after retrieving the other kids from the car I walked her to the nurse's office where she was bandaged up. When the nurse had her happy and distracted, I made my exit. The next few days went much the same with me leaving her in tears lined up to walk into the building. It BROKE my heart! I have been so confused as to what is going on and how she transitioned so well last year and not this year. All I can come up with is that we had such a loving, caring, nurturing and sweet Kindergarten teacher. This year, I have yet to meet her 1st grade teacher. (Again, this will be addressed in a future post). I have seen her once at dismissal and that has been the extent of it. She seems nice enough, but I am not sure if one could compare to Miss Geremia who is now Mrs. Thomas. As I am totally perplexed by the situation, I also know that I can't overreact and that we just have to give it some time and allow Hannah to settle back into the routine. I am sure me having the summer off to be with her has aided in this difficult adjustment as well. AND there is that matter of new baby Cameron also. So I made a deal with myself that I would keep a close eye on the situation but also give it enough time to fully asses before I go in the school all crazy Mom like.

INSERT WEEKEND STORY HERE: As if Hannah wasn't having a tough time already, CCD started on Sunday. She was SO excited because this meant she would be seeing Nya the third musketeer of their group. The three of them are the best of friends and Nya moved to Cranston this summer so Hannah has been bummed about not having her around in class, etc.. So she and Makenzie save a seat in the middle for Nya and their reunion. Nya comes in and they are delighted. Then Nicholas comes in (Hannah's "boyfriend" and my good friend's son) and they are all so happy to be together. They start to call the classes to line up and go into the classrooms and they get to Hannah's age group. They call Nya, Makenzie, then Nicholas.. and they send them to the class. Hannah is sitting all alone and suddenly realizes, they are all together in class and she is all alone without anyone she knows in the other class. I think I literally felt my heart break for her as I ran to scoop her up as the tears were streaming down her face. After comforting her for a few minutes, I marched her down to the class where her friends were and explained the situation to the teacher who was more than willing to have her stay in his class. I then explained the situation to Sister Dot who was more than willing to accommodate the situation. Sighhhhh Could Hannah have had a more traumatic week? LOL


Fast forward to yesterday when I get a phone call from the school nurse telling me she has Hannah in her office. She is complaining of her throat and a stuffy nose. She hasn't got a fever and her throat is barely pink. When I asked to speak with her, I was told I couldn't.. well because she is complaining of a sore throat and all.. and germs.. and the phone.. Not quite sure exactly why she couldn't alcohol the phone afterwards, but okay, I go with it. So I throw the other kids in the car and leave my studio work in Pawtucket to go assess the situation. When I get there, I get the feeling that Hannah is now putting the school nurse out. I explained that we are having some transition issues and she replies, "Well she is making a habit out of coming down to my office." As I was about to address this, Hannah came bounding down the hallway wanting to show Layla her classroom. (For ambiance.. add in the fact that Layla is melting down due to an interrupted nap and Cameron is screaming his head off) I looked at her and asked her if she were well enough to go back to class. She replied she was and I sent her right back as I left to calm the younger two.

When Hannah came home I grilled her about how many times she had been to the nurse's office. She said 3 times in total. Once the day she skinned her knee with me and twice yesterday. Before lunch she went down and the nurse told her to go to lunch and see if she felt better. After lunch she went back stating she wasn't feeling better. I believe this. I believe the visits were 3 in total. I explained to Hannah that if she was okay to be in class then she cant keep going down to the nurse's office. I went into great depth about Emily, the girl who cried wolf so many times that when she was telling the truth, nobody believed her. I grilled it into her to make sure she understood the difference and I do believe the point was driven home. I understand that the nurse probably thinks she is this type of child because she is new and doesn't know Hannah so I am going to have to speak to her tomorrow and explain the situation.


As I got in about 9:30 last night from the gym, I went upstairs to shower and I heard her crying. I went into her room and realized she was half awake, half asleep. My heart immediately sank. I knew.. I knew... I just knew she REALLY didnt feel well and all along she WAS telling the truth. I felt HORRIBLE for drilling her earlier when all along she just didnt feel right and couldn't vocalize it. (Something that Hannah never could do, I believe due to all the pain she was in as an infant). A few more episodes of her crying and I woke her up completely and gave her Motrin and let her sleep in my bed. Sure enough she said it was her ear that hurt. This time the right one. When she got up this morning she said she felt much better. I also noticed she slept longer than she has been. For some reason she has been getting up quite early lately. Even though she said she was better, I made the appointment at the doctor. She didn't have school and I wanted peace of mind.


Not only does Hannah have an ear infection.. HER TUBES ARE OUT! I repeat.. HER TUBES ARE OUT! These are the third set of tubes that she has had inserted and these tubes WERE ONLY PUT IN LESS THAN TWO MONTHS AGO! July 13th to be exact! I was literally beside myself! Seeing that our appointment was with the nurse practitioner and the office was slamming, I knew there wouldn't be time to pull Dr. Sowa aside and voice my concerns. I am going to have to make that phone call tomorrow. Yet, where do we go from here? Do they insert them AGAIN? DO they wait? DO we go through the entire winter with her in pain and missing school? WHAT am I supposed to do? Mind you that I am completely TERRIFIED of going through another ruptured ear drum experience. So here I sit completely dumbfounded about the situation. I am sure after a good night's sleep I will figure the solution and proper steps to take.. I am just completely exhausted with all of this sickness drama lately! Layla currently has a double ear infection. This I know only after taking Cameron in last week for his terrible diaper rash (which turned out to be yeast and eczema and has cleared quite well with the proper medication) and having Dr. Sowa say, "I hear her wheezing.. let me check her as well." Cameron also caught the cold and is completely congested. OYE! WHAT on earth is this winter going to be like? I'm losing my mind already!

Furthermore, when I went to go take Cam's Baptism photo's at the studio, I realized that the outfit that was made for him was stained! I had ordered it off of Etsy and I am looking at it in the daylight and the linen looks completely bleached stained all over the front of the vest. I freak of course, 1-because I paid money for the outfit and want it to be perfect and 2-because..well I want it to be perfect! I emailed the woman immediately and she was very sweet about the situation yet, she was leaving for vacation today. In the end, I decided to keep the outfit and make do since there wouldn't be enough time to find another and she refunded me 50%. She took her spool of linen outside and saw the same defective fabric. Something that wasn't visible to her or me inside the dimly lit house. She did feel bad and I was ready to live with it until I spoke to my mother in law today who is insisting that it is a sign because my sister in law Jill, Cam's God mother, really wanted to buy the outfit. So now I think I will return the outfit for a complete refund and mom in law and I are heading to Joe's Place tomorrow to search for a new one!

As if one more thing couldn't go wrong, I had uploaded the pics of Cameron I took last week onto the CVS photo website last night to order the 8 x 10's as centerpieces for the Baptism. I thought this was great because I didn't have to lug the kids and do them all myself in the store. I go to pick them up today and they messed them up! I just wanted 8 x 10's. They cropped and blew up images so much so that half of Cam's head was cut out of the shot! SERIOUSLY? I emailed CVS and they told me about their 100% customer satisfaction guaranteed policy and to return them for a full refund. Which I did, but not without complete attitude by the photo person. I am SORRY, but I would like my son's whole head present at his Baptism, thank you very much! What the??? Mon Dieu! I know.. trust me I know that none of this makes any iota of a difference because all that matters is that my beautiful little boy is present for us to contest to raise him in the Catholic Faith. I know this. Yet, that detail oriented part of me sometimes takes over and can really drive me crazy! I was going to be an event planner before I found out I was pregnant for Hannah!

So my long winded post is through and I will leave you by saying.. Stay tuned for my comments about the safety and unorganized craziness of Hannah's school!

Andrea & Thadd's Engagement Shoot RCB Matunuck, Rhode Island August 2010

Cameron John 3 months

Survived

Well we survived our first 3 days back at school and back at work. Hannah transitioned exceptionally well, as I knew she would. This is not to say that I am not a little concerned (again) with a few safety issues at her school and I plan to meet with the principal next week to discuss them further. I know the school has had a lot of administrative replacement and movement, but I still dont see why they cant come up with the proper organizational skills as to make the first few days a bit easier on the kids as well as the parents. Some of it is pure common sense. Hannah does like her teacher and she seems very enthusiastic about learning more skills and participating in 1st grade. She is happy to be back amongst all of her girlfriends as well.

As far as work is concerned, I had an exceptionally hard time adjusting back. I find it very difficult for reasons I am not able to explain here. It was really tough on me however, the babies seemed to do quite well. Layla seems happy to be back in our work schedule and Cameron adjusted remarkably also. He has gone down in the pack n play for naps and loves the portable swing as well. Yes, it can be a bit tough to multitask with the two of them, but I can assure you that this is not the most difficult task of my job. I am sure a few more days of playing "catch up" will help me feel better about the situation but it sure as hell is not going to stop me from playing the lottery in hopes to someday be a stay at home mom!

Still on track at the gym, however the weight coming off has completely slowed down which can be quite frustrating. I am working so hard.. I want it off! I want it off now! It has been tough to go this week amongst all the chaos of returning back to work and Hannah being back in school. I am exhausted come 8:00pm but I have pushed on and kept going. PLEASE... weight.. come off! PLEASE!

We had a great night last night as the girls had their girlfriends Makenzie and Mia over for the Camp Rock Final Jam movie. They were adorable and seemed to have a great time. Yet, I am not so sure how much of the movie they actually watched since they seemed to have had more fun playing and dancing about. Thankfully, Hurricane Earl didnt seem to measure up as they had originally thought and although I haven't heard the official word yet from my Dad, 1W3 seems to be standing strong in it's place. I would have been completely devastated had the surf swept this cottage away on us. Thank you Lord for sparing our little piece of heaven!

Following are some pictures of Hannah's 1st day and our visit with my girlfriend Sara who had her precious baby Aria a mere 2 weeks after I had Cameron. Aria is a beautiful little baby girl and I was so happy to have spent some time with Sara! Hoping to get to NYC this Christmas to visit again with her!