A Little Holiday Gift, from all of us to all of you

Pearl Jam Live at Austin City Limits...a historic rock n roll landmark, longest running rock show in American history. Nice live versions of Backspacer songs.

Charlie's 1st Day of Pre-K

Today was Charlie's 1st official day of pre-school at "the Ark" aka the Ocean City Tabernacle. We went in for open house last week, and he and Finny had a blast. But today was the real thing. He was sure to step up the drama last night and tell me how "nervous" he was about his 1st day, and that he didn't want to go there without me (the kid has NEVER clung to my leg... quite the opposite. People would think I beat the child the way he runs from me in public) After a pep talk and some distraction tactics, he fell asleep and awoke this morning to minimal drama. We met Mom Mom and Pop Pop there for a photo shoot (his pre-school is literally around the corner from their house).

Charlie was so distracted by his friend Collin, from last year's pre-school, that he didn't have any time for the papparazzi. When the teacher opened the door, he said "Hi Mrs. Dice!" gave her a big hug and ran in the door. And that was the end of it! He forgot all about me. As Mary Poppins once said "As it should be." When we walked away to go to Ruthie Day, Finny said "I'm sad about Bobbo."

When we picked him up, Finny attacked him with hugs! Finny went running up to him, but Charie ran past him to hug Mom Mom. Then he realized, from the squealing, that Finny was there too!

He had a great day, just as I told him he would. He's growing up every day, and we are loving every minute of it!

Homage to my Ga-rage

Just wanted to send a pic of my garage. If you've never seen it, then this won't impress you. But if you have, (especially if you are Kelli and Ryan who "pimped" my garage just one short year ago and it was an avalanche in less than 9 months)... well anyway it's impressive!!! I'm really hoping to be able to pull my car into it for the winter (at least when it snows... which is a good thing the snow blower didn't sell... I guess.) And if you're wondering to yourself, "self, how do I get my garage this clean?" The answer is YARD SALE baby!!! I was reluctant to let Joe in on my master plan, b/c he never wants to take the time to sell our junk for a Quarter. But we did! We got TONS of customers at our new prime location in Marmora and we sold some junk boy!!! Joe sold his old Umpire gear. I sold stuff I got off the trash for big $$$! We haven't closed up shop for the day and I asked Joe if he wanted me to take a preliminary count of the funds, and he asked me if I knew of a wise man named Kenny Rogers. What does that mean? I'm kidding I know what he means. I think.

I'm also putting in some pics of the boys with the "creatures" Grandpa bought for us the other day. My Dad always used to come home with lobsters and let them crawl around on the kitchen floor so I was so happy we could recreate that memory for my kids!! Charlie was a little scared at first (even though he LOVES crabs and lobsters and always wants us to watch them on Youtube!) Then he warmed up to them and was "tickling their tails." Bailey even got in on the action. Finny got down on the floor, but if one of those "Lobtahs" got into a tangle with him, I think we'd know who would win!! Finny would just EAT HIM!!!

Happy Birthday Finny James!

How quickly they grow up! I find myself reminiscing and feeling nostalgic and my little guy's only 2!!

What a nice little day we had for Finny. I didn't throw my usual birthday bash because 2 of my sisters were away (one permanently) and Suzie just delivered little Quinn on the 31st! He is an absolute doll, btw! Anyway, we had a little party for him at the house with both grandparents and Mo Mo and Matt (who is also about to pop, Mo Mo, not Matt! Thanks, Mo Mo, for making the drive. I know it wasn't easy, but I tried to make the cake and treats worth your while!) Finny napped for a while and I went upstairs to wake him b/c we had ordered pizza, and he came down in my arms so calmly. He was so happy to see the "coo coo keys" (choo choo trains) all over the house, and immediately sat down to play with "Pomass" (Thomas).

We all began eating pizza and Finny just went out to the porch and had a rest on the chaise with his guggy.

He was holding out for the cake. It was the first thing he said when he woke up this morning. I said "Happy Birthday" and he said "Want birthday cake." Just like his Momma! Charlie was really sweet b/c he said happy birthday right away and gave Finny a big hug! They devoured the cake! Then we opened presents. Finny was so calm and loved everything he opened (or should I say that Charlie opened for him!) Every time he got a train, he wanted to open it right away. I read his birthday cards out loud to him, and when I got done reading Mom Mom's I closed it and Finny said, "Amen." Whenever we asked Finny how old he is today, he said, "five." I don't know where he got that, only that he does love counting!

Later, after everyone left, we were all bathed and laying on Mommy and Daddy's bed "nuggling" and saying our bedtime prayers. We always start out with what we're thankful for, and I went into this long soliloquy about Finny James. Then Finny said "Tank oo toys. Tassy (salt water taffy, which he loves). Fireman." I thought that was so sweet. Then he said "Mommy. Bobbo (Charlie). Nuggle." I could just eat that kid!

It's so amazing to see how quickly they grow and change in just one short year. This time last year, he couldn't even walk! Now he sings "Rock-a-bye sweet Finny James" with Daddy every night at bedtime. He also sings "Poker face," "Round the way girl" (by LL Cool J) and "Boom Boom Pow." He's got quite an eclectic musical ear!

I thank my lucky stars almost daily for these two wonderful boys. When they're not driving me bananas, they are just amazing to witness. I am constantly cognizant of these fleeting moments which someday I will turn around and miss. I try so hard to make snapshots in my mind (like today when Charlie hugged Finny) because I know too quickly they will be grown. And of course we happened upon an old man in Shop Rite today who was admiring my "wonderful helpers." And I said "aren't they?" half sarcastically. And he said, "Oh these days are so short. Now I vacuum the house and the vacuum lines stay there for weeks and weeks and I think of the days when I barely had time to vacuum and miss them!" Well, I nearly cried right there in the Shop Rite. I walked away with a tear in my eye, and made sure to say an extra thanks tonight for my two wonderful joys.

Happy Birthday Sweet Finny James!! We love you!

And if you made it all the way to the end, here's a sweet treat... my newest nephew Quinn Cogan Gallagher. Born at 3:33pm on July 31. 8 pounds even and 21 inches. He is just a little ball of love!

Charlie's Big Debut

Look out world, here comes Charlie!!

I had emailed a rep from Sprout a few months ago offering Charlie's services for any of their shoots. Kelli had taken Rae a few years ago, and she got stage fright and wouldn't do it. Then Suzy took Jack and Luke, and they didn't cooperate either. So we thought we'd try our luck when someone from Sprout emailed for Charlie's (free) services.

We went to the shoot this morning. It's for a Wiggles show airing on Sprout August 24. I didn't tell Charlie anything about it, I just told hime he'd talk to some grown ups and play a little and tell some jokes (and he was strictly forbidden from talking about poopy!)

We rolled up in the mini-van at this beautifully charming Victorian in downtown Haddonfield. They had a gorgeous yard and an amazingly renovated home. While we waited for Charlie's turn, he had to go potty. So we went in the house and Charlie "needed his privacy so he could poop." I waited outside and tried not to gape and this gorgeous home. When he finally finished, he had to go into great detail about the condition of his "hot poopy." While I helped him wipe and tried to keep him from continuing his diatribe about his poopy, MY SUNGLASSES FELL IN THE TOILET! Charlie starts screaming, "Your glasses fell in my poopy! Your glasses fell in my poopy!Did they touch my poopy? Oh my gosh Mommy!" I was shushing him and trying to keep the commentating to a minimum, but that only fueled his inquisition. I knew I had to get out of this echo-laiden bathroom and pronto! Now to only keep him from running out and telling the whole film crew what just happened!

Luckily, that didn't happen and Charlie's shoot went off without a hitch. He certainly wasn't the usual boisterous boy we all know and love, but he sang and danced and spoke pirate talk and told a joke and did all the things the director asked. At one point the camera man asked him to do something and he said "oh, that's b/c I got my hair cut." The crew was laughing so hard I thought they were going to have to do a retake. So, all in all, I think he did a really great job. I don't know that he's ready for his own Nick show, but we'll see how it turns out! It was definitely a great opportunity for him. And on the way home he said he "could've skipped the part where Colin (the director) made him say all that stuff. I just wanted to say my own words!" Isn't that the truth!

So be sure and watch (or DVR) on the 24th of August. It's a Wiggles episode on Sprout. The Wiggles are new for Sprout, so I don't know what time it will air!

In other news, I'm also attaching pictures of Charlie's new haircut (his shortest ever!) He's really ready for the Army now! And some pics of Connor crabbing with us in Tuckerton. We had my nephews here for almost a week, and I tried to keep them busy with tons of activities. They called it "Camp Aunt Shanie." They couldn't have given me a better compliment!

The rest of the pics are just some of the things we've done this summer. I took the boys to see Thomas, and Charlie cried b/c we weren't going to the museum too. What 4-year old cries for NOT going to a museum? We went to Dorney Park with the Krechels and Cogan-Helsels and then toured Steamtown USA with the Hennion-Cogans! We also went to the Mets at the Washington Nationals game with the rest of the Costal clan. They watched the game while I walked the sleeping boys around the stadium! And we went to Chicoteague and Ocean City, MD. We saw lots of horses, but while we were there I found out that my first husband, Michael Jackson, had died. As I sat in disbelief and drowned my sorrows in the pitcher of beer I had already begun consuming, Ireminisced on the Michael I once knew and loved! Then we went up on the boardwalk and found the t-shirt... literally 2 hours after he died! Man, they're quick!! But seriously, I know the media beat it into the ground (note the pun, thank you very much) but he was an amazing entertainer (albeit strange and possibly deranged later in life) and my first true love in second grade!! Long live the King of Pop! And as Michael always said "MamaSayMamaSahMaMaKooSah" and "Sham-on."

"So I used to be the baby Jesus?"

There have been so many funny things going on in Casa Costal lately and I keep saying "I have to blog about that." But I get too busy or I get one of my infamous headaches and I don't do it, but tonight I must!!

As I am sure all parents say, "my child is sooo funny," and I'm sure that's true, but they haven't met MY child! (Sense my sarcasm...) But it's true. Charlie is one of the most unusual kids you will ever meet. Everywhere we go, everyone knows him. He is notorious in Ocean City; Finny and I just follow along as his entourage! He has picked up this new habit of doing impressions of people (sometimes right in front of them). Today he mimicked my father-in-law while he was still talking "When I go down to Palm Beach, I get a bunch of shrimp..." (in his best Cuban accent!) But as usual, what takes the cake is Charlie's incessant questions. He's like my little Socrates, always asking questions. And unfortunately for him, Mommy doesn't always have the answers!! So today we are sitting in the car and he says:

C: "Mommy when you were a little girl and Daddy was a little boy, where was I?"
M: I had no idea what to say. I was afraid if I waxed philosophical on him it would lead to other even more difficult questions, but I forged forward... "You were in heaven with God." (and I braced myself for the barage of questions... and he said
C: "So I was the baby Jesus and then you called me Charlie?"
I about peed my pants laughing!

But what can you expect from a big 4 YEAR OLD boy!!! Yes, he just turned 4 and we celebrated at "Mom Mom's Build a Bear" in the good old Deptford mall! We had a blast! BAB was sooo fun and they did a great party! Charlie wanted a "worm party." I wasn't really sure what that entailed, so I just made a worm cake out of rice crispy treats and "dirt" cupcakes with worms coming out. That was the extent of my wormy theme, but it apeased the beast!! He loved it! And the cake was quite the showstopper in the mall! Joe and I can't believe we are parents to a 4 year old boy! He feels so grown up! I know that sounds crazy!! But ever since that boy came out of me I've been dreading the day he grows up and leaves me!! And of course, my little intuitive boy (Joe and I think he reads minds sometimes) says to me the other day, "Mommy I'm gonna love you forever and ever. I'm never gonna leave you." Also, on his birthday he blew out his candles and said he "wished that he loved me." I think he meant he wished AND he loved me! It's all semantics.

Charlie and Finn are really turning into the best of friends. It always makes me so happy when they play together. Of course, I break up tons of fights and mediate lots of tantrums and arguments, and it's usually me pulling Finny off of Charlie!! Charlie has become such a great big brother. He always looks out for Finny and keeps him out of trouble! Even when Finny is climbing to the top of the bookshelf in the playroom to get a closer look at the fish! Or today... when both boys were in the back of the Altima... they were sitting so close to eachother that Charlie kept reaching over and monkeying with Finn. He found an old piece of tissue paper (it's Joe's car, so it's got quite a menagerie of interesting items in it!) and he and Finny were tearing it up. All of a sudden Charlie yells, "Finny's eating the paper!" Finny started to gag, and then he projectile vomited his entire dinner all over the place!! I pulled over, but there was nothing I could do, so we got back on the road. Charlie said "Roll down the windows, it's stinky and he's too close!" and then he started screaming "macaroni and cheese macaroni and cheese!" And then, the smart little bugger turned on the toy M&M fan that Bammy just gave him to keep the stink away from him! Just another day in paradise!!

And in more exciting news!!! I started a year-long program to become a Lactation Consultant!!! I am so excited! I have been saying I want to do this for years!! I looked into it so many times and felt overwhelmed by all the mentoring hours and education hours required to complete it. And then a friend of Suzie's passed on some info about a class that meets one Sunday a month from 9-5 for one year and it would fulfill all my education requirements. I still have to do the mentorship on my own, but it sure throws me into the thick of it! We had our first class last month and I practically skipped the whole way there!! It was so interesting. There was such a neat mix of women there and the teacher LITERALLY wrote the book on breastfeeding!! The class is amazing and I can't wait to actually get paid to do this!! And not only that, I can't wait to be able to help women do something that I feel so passionately about!!

And it seems there is someone else in our house who is passionate about boobies! Our little Charlie! Ever since I nursed Finny he has always talked about "nipples" quite freely to anyone who will listen (the ladies on the monorail, people in the supermarket, but mostly ME... EVERY DAY!) Well, the other day he says to me "Mommy, if you lean on your nipples will they pop?" I said I'd ask at my boobie class!

Happy St. Patty's From the McOstals!

Top o' the evenin' to ya! We haven't posted in quite some time. We McOstals kind of hunker down for the winter and don't really reemerge until sometime when they start serving Guinness at the local pubs!

The boys had a hearty Irish dinner made by yours truly! I am not the greatest cook, but I think I make a pretty mean Corned Beef and cabbage! The boys thought so too because between Finn and Charlie I think they ate about a pound of it!! Literally! Finn was yelling "Oggie!!" (Which in Finn language means food) And Joe and I indulged in a little too much corned beef and fresh horseradish ourselves. Not to mention the copious amounts of cabbage... he'll be sleeping on the couch tonight!!

But the highlight of the long, much-celebrated St.Patrick's day season was Suds and Spuds at the Gallaghers. I deviated from the traditional white potato for a sweet potato dish. My ancestors wouldn't approve, but I was out for blood... McConnell blood that is! I decided I needed to beat my parents' friend Sue at her own game! She was new to Suds and Spuds last year and swept the competition with her sweet potato pie, so I decided that all bets were off with the traditional dish and I kicked her little Irish butt fair and square. So what if she's legally a senior citizen and the mother of a nun... right? God will look the other way this once. I mean I figure at least I got St. Patrick on my side. That's gotta count for something! All in all, we had a great time. Some of the highlights were Jodi's delicious potato soup named "Idaho dat made this soup;" Kelli's chocolate covered potato chips sprinkled with coffee named "Cafe O'Lay;" and of course my dish "Hooked on Craic." Suz and Dan have started quite a tradition with Suds and Spuds and it just gets more fun every year... minus the stomach ache I had because I O.D.ed on carbs and cheese!!! Oh, and I forgot to mention in my acceptance speech (via live satellite from the AC Expressway), "I'd like to thank the academy and Mom, Judy G and Kelli for helping me with my dish. It took us 4 hours and a few trial runs, but it turned out great!"

Another fine St. Patty's Day is over. Now bring on the spring!!!

Slainte!