My baby wearing baby

She told me "I don't like to use strollers because I want my baby to feel me"

Learning the A-B-C's

Accept differences.
Be kind.
Count your blessings.
Dream.
Express thanks.
Forgive.
Give freely.
Harm no one.
Imagine more.
Jettison anger.
Keep confidences.
Love truly.
Master something.
Nurture hope.
Open your mind.
Pack lightly.
Quell rumors.
Reciprocate.
Seek wisdom.
Touch hearts.
Understand.
Value truth.
Win graciously.
Xeriscape.
Yearn for peace.
Zealously support a worthy cause.

Empire State Building

I just posted about bringing the girls to the San Gennaro feast and now I want to share photos of our visit to the Empire State Building. One of my early jobs (I was in my early 20's) was in an office in the ESB. It was really nice to go back and see it again. :-)

Construction began on began on March 17, 1930 and was the center of a competition between Walter Chrysler (Chrysler Corp.) and John Jakob Raskob (creator of General Motors) to see who could build the tallest building. By October 3, 1930, there were 88 floors finished and only 14 to go. These top floors took the form of a distinctive tower of glass, steel, and aluminum. The tower is about 200 ft. high and topped with a dome. In 1986 The Empire State Building was recognized as a National Historic Landmark. Many movies have been filmed at the ESB over the years.

This is the north side of the observation deck (86th floor). The Met Life building and the Chrysler Building are both visible. In the background is The Bronx and Westchester County.


Looking west, you can see the Hudson River and the state of NJ in the background. It's overlooking some neighborhoods such as Hells Kitchen and Herald Square.


Looking south towards Downtown Manhattan, you can see both the Manhattan Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge crossing over the East River. The gapping hole in between the tall buildings in the back is where the Twin Towers should be.


And finally, looking east at the East River you can see the Queens in the background.


Billy and the girls:

We're Back From NYC (pics from San Gennaro)

So much has happened in the last couple of months since my mother crossed over...most of it sad, some of it uplifting. I'll post about her death and the services over time, it's still to fresh to do it all right now. I'd rather start with some happy times.

Again, thank you all for your condolences and thoughts in the comments and e-mails. They helped me more than you could know. There are about 30 comments that need to be looked at before I can approve them so please bear with me. It may take some time to get everythng updated. Also, I'm planning on getting the next issue (which is #10) of Unschooling Voices out for Oct. 1 so keep your submissions coming. We have a ton so far! If I need to hold it off until Nov. 1, I'll let all of you know.

We just got back from a trip home to New York City where we held a memorial service for my mother, which was attended by family and friends. I'll post more about that at another time-for right now I want to share some of the happer pictures because this was the first time Shawna & Jacqueline (Cimion didn't come) had a chance to sightsee in NYC because the only other time they were there was for our adoption party in 2004 and we only stayed for four days. This time we stayed 10 days and allowed ourselves plenty of time to show them around.

This was their first time on a plane so it was a very exciting part of the trip for them! They both enjoyed this new experience!! We flew out of Orlando airport on 9/6 and this is us on the plane.

Jacqueline took this picture from the plane.


We were so lucky that the annual San Gennaro feast, held in Little Italy, Manhattan, was going on during our stay and we wanted our girls to experience it. Billy & I have attended this many times in the past and it's a New York tradition.

This feast, in it's 80th year, celebrates the patron saint of Naples Italy and draws over a million people during it's 11 day run.




We decided to beat the crowds (it draws over a million people during the 11 days) and go on the first day, just as it was opening, because I didn't think Shawna (who struggles with sensory issues) would be able to enjoy herself with all the crowds and noise that going in the evening or the weekend brings. So although we missed a lot of the special events, we had a much more relaxed time there.


First...we ate. That's what this street festival is all about. lol We started with some sausage, peppers and onion heros. Mangia!!





Here's Jacqueline trying her hand at getting the balls in the bucket.



We're digested and ready to eat again.

hhmmm...what to get...what to get???



We decided on rice balls.




Shawna got a henna tattoo. I'll share a photo in another post of what it looked like when it was done.



Did we save room for zeppoles?



Of couse we did!! YUMMY!!!



Hello...

...from...



...which is....



Ciao!!

(I'll share more pictures in another post!)

Hello everyone!

Just a quick post to everyone to say hello and thank you for your condolences and thoughts. They have helped me through the hardest month of my life and your friendship means the world to me.

We're getting ready for a trip back home to New York City on September 6th to have a memorial service for my mother and I'll be back to regular blogging and editing Unschooling Voices when I get back, which will be towards the end of September. I plan on the next edition of Unschooling Voices (which is #10) for October 1 so keep sending in your submissions. You can click "Unschooling Voices" in the right sidebar for contact information and details.

There are a bunch of comments that I haven't approved yet due to lack of time to properly respond. If you haven't yet seen your comment show up, it will be posted as soon as I get back to blogging next month.

Thank you again for your thoughts-it means everything to me.