What do you do when you are thirsty?

Run to your sink to grab a glass of water? Go to the water cooler at work and refill your water bottle? There are so many people in our world, specifically Africa, that do not have such a simple but important luxury.

During this time of giving thanks, I am asking my readers to become a fan of Chase Community Giving on Facebook. Once you do this you can vote for the African Well Fund - the winner receives $25,000 towards their charity. With this money the AWF can fund an entire water and sanitation project, which depending on the country, can service thousands of people in villages that have no access to clean water.




Click on the link above to become a fan and vote. It will only take a few seconds...and in doing do you can change the lives of thousands of men, women and children who lack basic yet life saving access to clean water.

11 months young

Oh where o where has the time gone? My little man was 11 months old on Sunday. In a few short weeks we will be celebrating his 1st birthday...unbelievable. I love you peeper!

Lil' Pumpkin - 10 months

Spy was 10 months old this week. Here we are at Linvilla Orchards with cousins Sofia and Olivia, Zia Lisa, Nonna Maria and Nonno Mario and our good friend Leandro. Simon was wary at first and then really had fun feeling all the pumpkin stems...what can I say...he is very tactile!

I cannot believe that in a few short months we will be celebrating his first birthday! Crazy!!! He is a super fast crawler and loves to pull himself up and then let go...soon he will be walking and then all the fun will begin. He has 3 teeth and 3 more breaking through...so it has been a rough past couple of nights but we love him to pieces anyway!

With Nonno/a

The awesome Halloween display.

Very tactile my son.

Sofia has fun on the playground.

A lil' bit o' this n a lil' bit o' that

Since I have lost my ability to focus on any one thing for more than a period of 5 minutes, I have decided to post a bunch of blurbs about what is going on with me. You know for the 2 of you who still tune in to read this blog.

Whet to Fogo de Chao Sunday night and had a very un-Weight Watchers friendly dinner. Seriously, it was a crazy meat-a-licious meal. If you like meat I highly recommend the experience.

Speaking of Weight Watchers, I joined when I got back from Italy and have lost 11.2lbs in 6 weeks. I feel pretty awesome, better than I have in months. Now if only I can convince Spy to sleep through the night and I would feel 100%.

I took the Praxis II on Sept. 12. I need to pass it in order to student teach. I find out the results on Oct. 9 and I am supposed to start student teaching on Oct. 12. Talk about cutting it close and waiting until the last minute. Yeah, that is how I roll. If I fail...well I have to take it again in Nov and I student teach in Jan. Sigh.

Simon is crawling now, Lord help us all. He also has 3 teeth with at least 2 more on the way. He is still not sleeping through the night and hence I am not sleeping through the night either. If I do end up student teaching there are going to have to be some changes in our household with regards to who gets up to get Simon in the middle of the night. Yes, I am talking to you, D.

I need a mani/pedi in the worst way. My feet look like hooves. As usual, I have no time for this.

I am crazily looking forward to the next movie in the Twilight Saga: New Moon. Yes, I know it is a movie for teenagers. No, I do not care. The trailer made me squeal like a school girl at a Hot Topic meet and greet which by the way I have never been too in case you were wondering.

Finally, today is our 2 year anniversary. I cannot believe 2 years have gone by so quickly.

Happy Anniversary Baby!

The End of an Era

Orry Main. Johnny Castle. Vida Boheme.

Patrick Swayze

You will be missed.

9 months old

They say time flies when you are having fun...where have the last 9 months gone? Our little monkey is growing like a weed. He has two perfect teeth in this perfect mouth. He is almost crawling forward...definitely crawling backwards and can pull himself up in his crib. Sigh. Soon he will be asking for the keys to the car...what on earth will I do then?

A few days late but...

Happy 40th Anniversary Mom and Dad!!!

May you enjoy 40 more years of memories and happiness!

4 generations

This last trip to Italy was memorable in so many ways. However, I think I can say that seeing my Nonna Linda enjoy her great-grandchildren was probably the best part of my vacation. Here we are: my brother, my sister-in-law, my two beautiful nieces, my mom, me, my husband and my son all surrounding my Nonna. 4 generations of D'Angelo/DiFilippo/Palumbi blood...I can only hope that we can continue this tradition for many years to come!

8 months old

I was unable to post a 7 month picture of Simon since we left for Italy on July 1st. So here is our big boy - all grown up - 8 months old - rooting for the Phillies and doing his best crawl pose...it is only a matter of time before he is on the move!


Clearly he is the spitting image of my hubby and looks nothing like me at all. Honestly it is a bit of a disappointment that my genes were recessive in this child...you always wonder what physical traits you will pass on...sigh...well I guess at some point we will have to give it another go. Just not yet.

Simon had a wonderful time in Italia. He was very much in love with is great-grandmother Nonna Linda and smiled every time he saw her. He was wonderful on the plane - both ways - and managed to charm the air hostesses every time the passed our row. He really is such a happy and fun baby but he is also very active that I find that I have a hard time keeping up. Probably because I am the laziest person I know. Go figure I would have a hyper baby!

We are in the process of uploading and sorting our many pics from Italy most of which are of Simon. He had his first visit to the beach and dipped his feet into the Adriatic. He met and visited with lots of his cousins. He had a blast with Sofia and Olivia once they arrived. Once the pics are sorted I will post them and some of my musings and observations from my trip.

A presto!

We're back!

After 5 weeks in my beloved Italia we are back home. Pics and stories to come....if Simon will give me enough time to upload all the photos that is!

A preview of what is to come...

The Yeagers in Castelli - Photo by Lisa Palumbi

Almost there

I apologize to the 3 of you who still read my blog. The last 6 weeks have been a whirlwind of grad school classes, interrupted sleep and Kids Literacy Klub (KLK). I am happy to say that as of tonight I have taken my last graduate class. There are only 3 more days of KLK left. On Wed night we will be on a plane to Italy. Hooray!

The only crappy thing is that I found out today - due to some major mis-communication on the part of me and my adviser - that I have one last Praxis test to take before I am legally allowed to student teach in the state of PA.

Um, WTF? The next testing date is July 25 which I cannot make since I will be in Italy. I will have to register for the Sept 12 test (from Italy btw) the results of which I will get 4 weeks later. So if I am lucky and pass on the first try ONLY THEN can I student teach. By then it will be mid October so I am not even sure it will be feasable which means I will have to push it off until January. I am seriously pissed off.

The beauty of this whole clusterf**k is that I just happened to have a conversation with one of my colleagues today which sparked this whole thing...if I had not talked to her I would not have known I had missed this major requirement. I mean seriously...there is a woman who is in charge of our student teaching assignments. She is supposed to make sure our portolios are complete before she gives us the assignments. When was she planning on letting me know that my file was incomplete?!?!?! Sigh.

Anyway after my quasi nervous breakdown this afternoon I realized that everything happens for a reason so who knows...maybe this will all be a good thing, right?

So I apologize for being such an absent blogger. Again I leave on Wed so it is possible that this will be my last post until August. Unless I find an awesome internet cafe and some free time to update you on my travels.

So until then enjoy your summers, stay safe, wear sunscreen and have a good time!!!

6 months

It is hard to believe that half a year has gone by since our little SPY was born. He has changed and grown so much in just 6 months...what an adventure! We had our well-baby visit today and the doctor was so please with his progress. He is measuring in the 81% for both height (27.5 inches) and weight (19.9 lbs). He is hitting all of his milestones and then some! He is also teething which has made it interesting for me as I am the one who gets up with him at night...oh joy...but as they say...this too shall pass! Here are some more recent pics of my little buggie. Enjoy!

Our newest addition

A great super huge welcome to Olivia Maria Palumbi! My sweet niece arrived in the morning on Friday May 15 weighing in at 7lbs 3oz. Big sister Sofia, Mommy and Daddy are all excited for her arrival. Zia Paola is excited to spoil another little princess. Congratulation to everyone!

The Mommy Lens

I never truly realized how much having my own child would color the way I look at the world.

A few years back, my new book club decided to read the Kite Runner. I had already read the book and loved it so I was excited to talk about it with new people. Before the meeting I asked my SIL about it and she admitted that she only read half the book. "I could not get past that one scene...you know...where the little boy gets attacked," she said to me. "I think it is because I have two sons and all I can think about is them when I read the book." "Sure," I said, "that makes sense to me." But in my head I thought, how silly of her. The book is so good...she is missing out on a sad but great story.

I think about this conversation a lot lately. Now that Simon is here I see everything through Mommy colored glasses. A commercial for Save the Children unleashes uncontrollable sobs. Suddenly, the little boy on the screen has my son's face and his suffering is unbearable. I hear a story about kids bringing guns to school on the news. My mind immediately flashes to Simon in middle school, sitting at his desk, unaware that the kid next to him has a gun in his locker. My heart skips a beat at the thought of him in peril.

Not all of this is gloom and doom. The melody of the Jack and Jill truck has me daydreaming of summers to come, Simon's face all dirty with melted ice cream and a huge satisfied smile. I see the signs for Phillies Baseball Camp at Upper Merion and I envision my son in his baseball uniform sliding into home plate. Prom season has me wondering about the person my son will take to prom...what will this person be like? Will Dan and I approve?

This Mommy Vision has taken me by surprise. I knew things would change and it is only logical that my world view would change as well...but I am still just amazed at how different the everything looks to me now. Amazed yet pleased. I would not change my mommy glasses for the world.

5 months

OK so I am late with this picture...and it was taken this weekend so it is more like 5 months and 1 week but frankly with as sleep deprived as I am I am thankful I am even posting right now!

All dressed up for a cocktail party we went to this weekend. He is getting so big and is blossoming into a beautiful little boy. He rolled over today (twice) and his talking up a storm, reaching for objects in mommy's hand and is definitely experiencing stranger anxiety - oh joy!

Today was my first Mother's Day and it was great. Simon & Daddy let me sleep in until 11 am and Simon is getting my car detailed as one of my gifts. As crazy as it sounds I am so excited for this as my car is a pit and it makes me anxious to drive it as dirty as it is right now. My how my priorities have changed! He also got me a coupon for a mani/pedi, lunch and a movie with my SIL for sometime in the future. She is due with bambino #2 on Friday so I am sure that at some point this summer - when we all return from Italia - Lisa and I will cash in our coupons for some pampering, good food and a movie...when does New Moon come out again? Just kidding!

I hope everyone enjoyed a fantastic Mother's Day!!!

The Brightest Star in the Sky

Yay!!! My most favorite of authors, Marian Keyes, has finished her latest book, The Brightest Star in the Sky. Unfortunately for us in the US it will not be released here until Jan 2010. You lucky folks in Ireland and the UK get it in October.

For those of you that have never read her books...run out immediately and get a copy of Watermelon her first novel. It is so freaking funny. I promise you will be hooked. It makes for perfect summer reading.

Finally...something fantastic to look forward to in the new year!!

Organize to Exercise

Some of you may know about my super cool, extra fit cousin Toni, personal trainer extraodrinaire.

Click here to read an article she just recently wrote about fitting exercise into your lifestyle.

You can also go to her website Training With Toni to sign up for her personalized fitness videos - her 3 Minute Crush Program is amazin and gets results!!!

Remember June (and bathing suit weather) is just around the corner...YIKES!!!

Every generation has a chance to change the world

Only 10 days left to make a donation to the 7th Annual African Well Fund Build a Well for Bono's Birthday Fundraiser.

Click here to donate.

I know that times are tough financially but the next time you drink a glass of water think about how many people do not have access to such simple thing...a sad yet shocking reality for so many less fortunate than us.

As U2 says, "Every generation has a chance to change the world." Let our generation be responsible for providing clean water to those who need it.

Quick updates

Since I find that I have not time to write meaningful posts...I have ideas all the time just no time to actually write about them...I figured I would try to do some quick jot updates every now and again so people don't think I am dead.

Grad school still sucks...my math course especially. I think this teacher may be the worst professor I have ever had and I will be lucky to get an A...grrrr.

Simon attended his first story hour at the library. We sang songs, listened to stories and watched puppets perform. I think he liked it - he was probably just happy to be out of our house and surrounded by people other than myself. I met some moms in the neighborhood and am looking forward to hanging out at the play ground after story time next week.

Simon got his passport today...Italia here we come!

I am really loving Lost this season...I look forward to watching each episode on Thursday mornings while Simon sleeps on my lap...how pathetic am I?

Earthquake update: My family is ok. Our house suffered some minor disruption in the form of pictures falling off the walls and knick knacks broken but nothing major. Thank goodness. Abruzzo will never be the same. My prayers and thoughts go out to everyone affected by this tragedy. The National Italian American Foundation is collecting relief funds. If you are interested in making a donation click here.

OK, I have to sleep...I am so tired and Simon will be awake before I know it.

I hope everyone is well and I hope to see or hear from most of you soon!

Ciao a tutti!

4 months

Where has the time gone!!!