3 July 2010: Moses: The Next Generation

"We all grow up with the weight of history on us. Our ancestors dwell in the attics of our brains as they do in the spiraling chains of knowledge hidden in every cell of our bodies." ~Shirley Abbott

I went to our annual Family Reunion this year. I haven't been in several years and the older I get the more I am drawn to going. Why is that when we are younger, we can't be bothered with all the stories and history and as we get older, we can't get enough. Since I lost my mother to cancer at such a young age, I don't have the kind of access that many do and it makes me angry sometimes. As if my mother being taken from me at 17 wasn't bad enough, I sometimes feel like I have been robbed of our history. But then I realize, I have removed myself from it more than anything. My uncles and aunts are still around. My older siblings have more historical knowledge and stories. So as I get older, I recognize my place in this maze that makes up my family. I want to know more about the stories (good and bad). I need to understand where they came from to know where I came from.

So the photos above are of the next generation. The young ones who don't have much of a choice about being at the party since their parents are there and they are having a great time as children can in most situations; but they also don't understand how important it is for them to engage in our family now as they will likely drift away for a bit as many of us do before we return eager to know the history. I loved seeing the kids who have grown up in front of me and the newest members that I had never met. We are all a part of the history, our great grandparents...grandparents ...parents...siblings...
cousins. The Middle Eastern/Lebanese family genes mixed with a plethora of other heritages have created the faces you see above and aren't they just gorgeous!

The Moses clan has come a long way complete with some bumps, bruises, laughter, tears of joy and sorry, successes, failures, but most importantly love and connection.

9 May 2010: Happy Mother's Day / Snow Day

It's Mother's Day, that special day that we celebrate our moms or mom-like people. Did I mention this day was in May. Yeah, well this year Mother Nature was laughing at us in Central NY. Laughing so hard, she was crying but since it was so cold her tears become snow! There was one point this morning that it was almost a white out. Not funny Mom!

I made homemade sauce and meatballs for my mother in law because she wanted spaghetti and meatballs for her special Mother's Day meal. I took this picture as I started the sauce yesterday morning as it made me think of my mom and her Saturday morning tradition of making sauce and meatballs. Everything from the cans to the wooden spoon to the vat of tomato goodness slowly cooking on the stove all day long. YUM! And a picture of my mom, her mom and some of her siblings - it is one of my favorites!

17 April 2010: Family Values

Excuse me while I step on my soapbox for a moment...

I went to visit some friends who just had a baby. Two people who love their daughter with every fiber of their being. A couple that is so in love with each other that there is no doubt that their love will be passed on unconditionally to this child and any other children that they welcome into their family. How anyone could question their right to marry and have children makes me angry. Thankfully they live in a state where they can marry and they did have a child. They are truly an inspiration to me...I have every confidence that they will raise this child to an open-minded, community focused and strong woman! There are far too many children in their world who are not loved, who are abused, who are being taught that not all people are due the same rights - I love that these two women are just being who they are and committed to raising their daughter in a loving home. Isn't that what "family values" SHOULD be all about???

25 December 2009 Photo(s): A Tale Of Two Cities

Christmas Day started and ended in RI with a little of MA in the middle! It is always wonderful to see kids on Christmas morning/day with the excitement of seeing what Santa brought to them!

By the time I put my head down on a pillow, I was out like a burned out Christmas light!

24 December 2009 Photo(s): Twas The Night Before Christmas...

Some people celebrate more on Christmas day, but in the Lombardo household, it has always been Christmas eve! We had 22 people for dinner at my sister's house which included the 6 siblings,spouses, children and a variety of extended family and friends. It was a feast filled with food, family, fun and reindeer antlers!

The 5 cousins, who have made their appearance in the blog before, are above in the official cousin picture of the year! It was pig pile on Jared year!

My niece went around putting her antlers on many people to get them to catch her infectious excitement...and with that smile it spread like the swine flu or the reindeer flu!

You will see money being given in multiple formats because when the kids say they want money, we can't just put it in a card and call it a day. No, we have to make it more fun. This year I made my oldest nephew play "Jeopardy" to get his money. He also got "dough" baked in Pillsbury dough because that's how he "rolls".

It was a great night and we have another year to recover before we do it all over again! I hope you Christmas was wonderful as mine!

22 December 2009 Photo(s): The Spirit(s) Of Christmas

I finally have caught the Christmas "spirit"! It only happened a day or so ago but was kicked into high gear when I arrived in RI to see my family today. This is the one (usually) guaranteed time of the year when all of my siblings are together, along with spouses, children and assorted extended family. With six of us spread from GA to NY to MA to RI that is never an easy feat. As you can see in the photos above my sister, Anne Marie, is the Gaming Queen!

It has been quite a year for us - my brother was in the hospital during Christmas last year, my sister had kidney cancer in the spring, my nephew broke his arm, I broke my ankle and assorted other aches and pains as we get older. Luckily this Christmas season we are all relatively healthy (or at least healthier) and will be gathered in a few days to celebrate the season.

As we enter into this year's Christmas festivities, I am happy to have my family around me and remember those that are not here. Today would have been my mother's birthday and while she is not here with us physically, I know she is here in my "spirit" of Christmas!

20 December 2009 Photo: Our Newest Family Members

Now, Dasher! Now Dancer! Now, Prancer and Vixen! On, Comet! On, Cupid! On, Donder and Blitzen!

Don't they look real...well, besides being super small. It's the new mini-deer! We saw these cute deer in the store and decided they needed to come live with us. Mona is not so sure how she feels about the newest family members. First thing she did was smell their butts. I think she was offended that they didn't sniff hers in return.

December 5 2009 Photo(s): Candymania Part Deux

Well here is some of the finished product getting ready to be shared with friends and family near and far. If you are one of the lucky ones you will get some. If you come to visit me, there is a good chance there will be some here. If you have had the pleasure of tasting it, you know it is good. If you have not, you don't know what you are missing. Click on the second picture and make it giant...your mouth will water :)

Fun fact #1: I grew up with my mother making this candy every Christmas. We always called it Mom's Famous Candy and I assumed it was her recipe (not that she ever said that). I saw an almost exact recipe in a cookbook once - someone must have copied hers. Right?

Fun fact #2: This candy was the favor at our wedding. My sister made 14 or 15 sheets of it and brought to RI in a separate suitcase on a plane all the way from Georgia. Can you imagine if they asked to inspect that suitcase? HAHA

UPDATE FROM PILLOWGATE: I have made 5 calls to the General Manager of the hotel...she has not called me back! Does that mean I can call the authorities on her? Or maybe the owners of the hotel?

27 November 2009 Photo: Chaos Central

So I was asked to take a picture of all the grandchildren of my sister-in-law's family. Here is one of the shots taken in a situation where the lighting was bad, the background not great and the children were cute but crazed. All that being said, it came out ok! How do you get 9 children from ages 2-12 to cooperate, all look in the same direction and smile on cue? If you know, feel free to share.

26 November 2009 Photo(s): Gobble Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Birthday to my sister Anne Marie.

Bill and I don't always come to RI for Thanksgiving but decided to make the trek this year. I am glad we did. It was a fabulous day and the only thing missing was the birthday girl. My family is crazy and loud but I wouldn't trade them for anything. Here is the yearly picture of the "dead end kids" minus one. My oldest nephew left and was supposed to come by but he never did so I will have to photoshop him in at some point.

Before dinner, Bill and I took Angelee down to the beach..here is one of Angelee and Uncle Butterscotch, which is what she affectionately calls him.

25 November 2009 Photo: Be Thankful For Pies - OH and Cheesecake

I helped my sister make a whole bunch of pies today. I think the last count was 8 pies and a cheesecake. What are you thankful for?

19 June 2009 Photo(s): Jurassic Park

Both Bill and I have family visiting from out of town. And what do any good folks living in the Syracuse area do with their guests??? We bring them to Dinosaur BBQ of course. Dinosaur was recently named the #1 BBQ in the country as decided by a poll done by Good Morning America. I am sure there is better BBQ but they didn't get the votes. If you haven't been, find one of the three around NY state (Syracuse, Rochester and NYC) and get your own Big Ass Pork Plate! http://www.dinosaurbarbque.com/

28 May 2009 Photo: We Are Family

One of my sisters is going in for surgery today so this blog is dedicated to her. Family is very important to me and I don't always tell them so my thoughts and love are going out to all of them today. I was still in high school when we lost my mom to cancer, and my siblings really took care of me and helped me to become the person I am today. Thank them or blame them as you see fit.

I obviously did not take this picture since I am in it. This picture was taken of me (right) and Tra (left) circa 1973/4. As you can see we were fashionistas even back then!

The song below is the one my brothers/sisters and I danced to at my wedding in lieu of the tradition father/daughter dance...I love you guys!

We are family
I got all my sisters (and brothers) with me
We are family
Get up everybody and sing

Everyone can see we're together
As we walk on by
And we fly just like birds of a feather
I'm not telling no lie
All of the people around us to say
Can we be that close
Just let me state for the record
We're giving love in a family dose, yeah

We are family
I got all my sisters (and brothers) with me
We are family
Get up everybody and sing

Living life is fun and we've just begun
To get our share of the world's delights
High hopes we have for the future
And our goal's in sight
No we don't get depressed
Here's what we call our golden rule
Have faith in you and the things you do
You won't go wrong, oh no
This is our family Jewel, yeah

We are family
I got all my sisters (and brothers) with me
We are family
Get up everybody and sing

11 February 2009 Photo: Another Puppy Blog?!?!

I was able to stop by and see some of my family yesterday between school visits.  It was great to see everyone and wonderful to see my nephew's puppy, Holly, that he got for Christmas.  She is very cute but hyper and growing like a weed!  They have a lot of training to do with her but for now she is just adorable.