Well, not to continue the Minnesota stereotype, but we currently have 22 inches of snow on the ground (over 8 days) and more falling.
For some reason, I just felt that needed to be noted.
James
Friday, March 02, 2007
A Sad Goodbye
So sadly, our good family friend, Bill Malloy passed away last weekend and his funeral was on Wednesday. Not only have Bill & Renee been some of my parent's closest friends for about 40 years, they were also our next door neighbors in Cherry Hills for more than 30 (and across Bottle Lake for just about as many). Their love story of small town American officer meets French aristocrat beauty in the shadows of world war two is a one in a million sort of tale. She leaves her life of privilege behind to travel all over the US with her gentle and wonderful new husband, finally settling to raise their family in St. Paul. They were every bit the fairytale and we are so sad to see him gone. As a child growing up next to this family (for me it was mostly about Bill & Renee and their grandchildren since their children were all grown by the time I mostly remember) was a wonderful sort of privilege. They brought a sense of worldliness and gentility to our suburban neighborhood, and yet they were always full of fun and life (and a little teasing too).
As I grew older and thought about family and home, I genuinely hoped we'd have a "Malloy" sort of relationship - I'm not sure it would ever be possible to repeat. The stories are many and varied: Once when our house had just been burglarized, Bill showed up with a shotgun and a holstered hand gun (as it was illegal in those days to have a gun without a holster...not sure why...) ready to defend the neighborhood - what he and my father thought they might do with those guns probably hadn't crossed their minds until the next morning. But there he was in the middle of the night standing with my parents, looking out for their children. I believe that the first call was to Bill and Renee's house and the SECOND call to the police. So much for the insurance salesman and the engineer...
He and Renee also would be known to have a "nightcap" at my parent's house after all the kids (their 5 and my parent's 6 at the time) were in bed (nightcap = martini). These nightcaps went well into the wee hours... Who has this kind of energy any more? For a long time the only kids that were in our neighborhood while I was growing up were the Malloy's visiting grandchildren. My first crush and also first kiss was with their oldest grandson, Graham, and every time I saw Bill until my wedding day he'd tease me about it. He always had a mischievous twinkle in his eye. The first time I ever went sailing was with Bill and it was about the only time I ever felt totally comfortable tilting over the side of a quick moving boat. He had the special gift of making you feel important, smart and beautiful. If only there was more of that gift in the world.
I could go on and on about the kind of man he was, but the most true thing I can say about him is that we were all better, more interesting people for having known him.
He will be missed so much. God Bless you, Bill. You certainly blessed us.
As I grew older and thought about family and home, I genuinely hoped we'd have a "Malloy" sort of relationship - I'm not sure it would ever be possible to repeat. The stories are many and varied: Once when our house had just been burglarized, Bill showed up with a shotgun and a holstered hand gun (as it was illegal in those days to have a gun without a holster...not sure why...) ready to defend the neighborhood - what he and my father thought they might do with those guns probably hadn't crossed their minds until the next morning. But there he was in the middle of the night standing with my parents, looking out for their children. I believe that the first call was to Bill and Renee's house and the SECOND call to the police. So much for the insurance salesman and the engineer...
He and Renee also would be known to have a "nightcap" at my parent's house after all the kids (their 5 and my parent's 6 at the time) were in bed (nightcap = martini). These nightcaps went well into the wee hours... Who has this kind of energy any more? For a long time the only kids that were in our neighborhood while I was growing up were the Malloy's visiting grandchildren. My first crush and also first kiss was with their oldest grandson, Graham, and every time I saw Bill until my wedding day he'd tease me about it. He always had a mischievous twinkle in his eye. The first time I ever went sailing was with Bill and it was about the only time I ever felt totally comfortable tilting over the side of a quick moving boat. He had the special gift of making you feel important, smart and beautiful. If only there was more of that gift in the world.
I could go on and on about the kind of man he was, but the most true thing I can say about him is that we were all better, more interesting people for having known him.
He will be missed so much. God Bless you, Bill. You certainly blessed us.
Connor!
Sorry for the long delay - it's been a busy two weeks and we've been staying at my sister Peggy's house since Monday - as you might imagine I haven't had much time to even think about blogging.
First of all, WELCOME CONNOR DOUGHERTY! Seamus and Finn are now officially BIG cousins and are VERY excited about the newest addition! Tom, Andie and family are doing great - besides being a beautiful baby - he also weighed in at 9 pounds (holy cow, Andie!) Everyone sounds relaxed and happy (or as relaxed as you can when you've just had a life changing experience :)
Seamus wants to name our baby Connor now too - which again is confusing since he's sure it is a girl. The last time I talked to Tom I told him we had to get the boys together soon because in about three months I was pretty sure Connor would be following in "Tough Tommie's" footsteps and be willing and able to kick the Minnesota Dougherty cousins' little butts. Let's just hope that he's benevolent... Aren't they all gorgeous!
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Happy Valentine's Day!
I don't understand why Cupid was chosen to represent Valentine's Day. When I think about romance, the last thing on my mind is a short, chubby toddler coming at me with a weapon.Happy Valentine's to you all! Especially the Dougherty's in California and South Carolina! We're thinking about you and sending you lots of love! Some pictures from the last week and this morning...~Author Unknown
A man is not where he lives, but where he loves.
~Latin Proverb
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Whiny Mommies...
I almost forgot...so other day, I was putting the boys down for naps and Finn was not cooperating very well. I was tired and wanted to have a nap too so I was feeling a little impatient. I'm yelling at Finn to get into his bed and lay down, when I hear little mister Seamus say:
High soft voice.
"Hey. That sounds like a whiny mommy...I don't want to hear any whiny mommies. Whining doesn't get you anything."
You think he's heard that before? I held in my laughter and said, I'm not whiny, I'm frustrated because no one is listening to me. At which point Seamus pointed out that he was laying in bed and now so was Finn and that it sure sounded like a whiny mommy.
Maybe it did. But I am the boss.
High soft voice.
"Hey. That sounds like a whiny mommy...I don't want to hear any whiny mommies. Whining doesn't get you anything."
You think he's heard that before? I held in my laughter and said, I'm not whiny, I'm frustrated because no one is listening to me. At which point Seamus pointed out that he was laying in bed and now so was Finn and that it sure sounded like a whiny mommy.
Maybe it did. But I am the boss.
Waiting...
We're all anxiously awaiting the birth of Dougherty Cousin #1 (although probably not as anxiously as Andie is...). Seamus is very excited because he's getting "baby boy cousin and a baby girl sister." If our baby turns out to be a boy (50-50 shot), I'm afraid that Seamus is going to send him back.
I've got a doctor's appointment today - 9 weeks to go! I'm feeling like there isn't any more room for the baby to grow (he/she lives with his/her feet in my lungs) but alas, I know there is lots more growing in store for this baby. But all in all, I still feel good and it's been fun now that the boys can feel and see the baby moving in my belly.
I'll add some pictures later today. Boys are doing very well - Seamus sang me "You Are My Sunshine" this morning as a wake up call - nice way to start the day. Finn is into everything lately, but he's so smiley and funny that its impossible to get mad. James and I have had a lot of what we call "walk out of the room discipline" which means you reprimand whatever naughty thing the boys did (usually together) and then walk out of the room so they can't see you laughing. Last night they were playing the drums together in the bath tub - which was just more noise than James or I could handle at 6:30 at night. James told them to stop and took the sticks away - at which point the boys both just smiled quietly and said "OK." Short pause. Smile. "Now may we have them back, please?" Eddie Haskell BIG smile. Who knew that saying "No" is actually the hardest thing to do as a parent - sometimes its so much easier and more fun to just say "Yes". Again, I guess it's all balance. But they did get the sticks back for a bit last night - until Seamus squirted water at James and ended bath time (I had to walk out of the room I was laughing so hard - it was a great shot...)
I've got a doctor's appointment today - 9 weeks to go! I'm feeling like there isn't any more room for the baby to grow (he/she lives with his/her feet in my lungs) but alas, I know there is lots more growing in store for this baby. But all in all, I still feel good and it's been fun now that the boys can feel and see the baby moving in my belly.
I'll add some pictures later today. Boys are doing very well - Seamus sang me "You Are My Sunshine" this morning as a wake up call - nice way to start the day. Finn is into everything lately, but he's so smiley and funny that its impossible to get mad. James and I have had a lot of what we call "walk out of the room discipline" which means you reprimand whatever naughty thing the boys did (usually together) and then walk out of the room so they can't see you laughing. Last night they were playing the drums together in the bath tub - which was just more noise than James or I could handle at 6:30 at night. James told them to stop and took the sticks away - at which point the boys both just smiled quietly and said "OK." Short pause. Smile. "Now may we have them back, please?" Eddie Haskell BIG smile. Who knew that saying "No" is actually the hardest thing to do as a parent - sometimes its so much easier and more fun to just say "Yes". Again, I guess it's all balance. But they did get the sticks back for a bit last night - until Seamus squirted water at James and ended bath time (I had to walk out of the room I was laughing so hard - it was a great shot...)
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