Christmas Eve 2023

 

Tommy's wearing a "Baby's First Christmas" shirt that I made

Katherine and Patty.

Sleeping in Heavenly Peace.

Nick and James

Michael, Megan and Tommy

Mickey's excited for Christmas!

Megan, Tommy and Uncle Nick.

More Tree Dec Pics

 

Katherine and Andrew and a Christmas Cow

Decorating the tree in 2023

 

Tommy was fascinated.

Mike sets up our first 'fake' tree. It's very pretty and so much easier.

Snuggling with my angel boy. Raven Littlepaw joined us.

With Grandpa

First picture of Mike holding his grandson. Tommy really seemed to like being with Grandpa! (Nov. 9, 2023.)

 

First Halloween

 

More Pics

 

2 1/2 months--a cuddle bunny!

Tommy Pics

I crocheted his little bumble bee outfit. Also made the bib!

 

A Nice Dinner with Family

 Michael and Megan came with baby Tommy for dinner last night. Katherine was there, too. (James was at work.) Nicky finally got to meet his nephew! He still can't hold him because neither Nick nor Tommy has had the dTap shot, but Michael promises everyone will be able to be close to Tommy in about a month. In time for Thanksgiving!

We had a nice dinner of ravioli lasagna and sfigotelli (sp?) for dessert. 

Tommy had formula. It will be quite a while before he gets solid food. 

My little angel:

Michael is 41

 It's hard to believe I gave birth to my oldest 41 years ago. He was born on a Monday, Columbus Day, in 1982 at 5:37. (I will always remember that time because it's the train I took home from the city when I was younger.)

Now he's a happily married man and a daddy!

We had dinner at our favorite restaurant, Catfish Annie's. Michael had twin lobsters. We were joined by Megan (her parents babysat Tommy), John, Noreen and Michael's cousin, John Joseph. We all really enjoyed ourselves! (Mike paid for the dinner, John paid the tip.)

One Month Old

 

Tommy was one month old yesterday, Sept. 25.

He had a checkup today and his daddy says he's a healthy baby!

Much Better

 Megan spent a few days in the hospital with a double kidney infection but seems to be doing much better now. She's spending a few days with her parents to get some rest. Michael has been taking care of his son (happily) but needs to catch up on some things he couldn't do with a newborn to care for. They might visit on Sunday--I hope.

Mike and I babysat on Tuesday so Michael could visit Megan in the hospital. Tommy was an Angel from Heaven. It felt so good to hold him in my arms.

My little dollbaby

Feeling Bad for Megan

 She came down with a fever of 105 degrees and had to go to the  hospital. Turns out she has an infection in both kidneys. The fever has gone down a bit but she's not out of danger yet. 

Not only that, she's stuck in a bed in the hallway since there are no rooms available at the moment. I wonder why so many people are sick.

Tommy is in good hands between Michael and Megan's parents. He's a bottle baby so that's not a problem. 

I just hope Megan comes home by tomorrow. That poor girl just can't catch a break.

Tommy, Sept 14

Sleepy little chubby cheeks

 

Tommy Comes Home

 

We got to visit our little grandson a few days after he came home. It was so wonderful to hold that sweet baby in my arms! I don't think I could ever get enough of him.

First Day Home

A Trip to AC

 We had planned a trip to Atlantic City a long time ago, never expecting Tommy to come 2 weeks early. Glad we got to see him before we left. We're back now and will visit soon, as long as Megan is up to visitors. Healing from a C-Section takes time!

Anyway, it had to be our best trip to Caesar's ever. I had 3 good-size wins (besides smaller ones) of $90, $200+ and 300+ We were playing for Tier Credits (they get you things) because it was 10x and if we got to 1000 we'd be in the Diamond Club through 2024. We were able to do that and will enjoy the benefits through the end of 2024.

I pretty much stuck with a few games. I like this one this is like a gumball machine and another called "Wrecking Ball" where you get to smash buildings. My overall favorite is a Buffalo game. I even have that on my phone, although the phone version is Make-Believe.

The gumball game.

It will be a few months before we go again. I have to say, winning is a real high!

We meet our Grandson

 

I can't say how it felt to hold that beautiful baby in my arms, but I don't think I could love him any more. He's a good, solid baby at 8 lbs. and so good! His Mommy says he's "pretty chill." He came home Sunday. I can't wait to see him again!

Happy Little Family

 

So much love and more to come from Grammy and Grandpa!

He's here! Welcome, Thomas MIchael!

 Megan went in the hospital Wednesday at 2. They started the induction process at 11 pm. All through Thursday we waited for something to happen. Michael said epidural helped with the pain. Later they gave her oxycontin (I think) to help move things along. She got to 6 centimeters last we texted.

Then early Friday they decided on a C-section. She'd been in labor more than 24 hours. Poor Megan was so scared but so brave.

Friday, August 25th, 4:32 am:

Thomas Michael arrives!

8 lbs, 21 inches long. Look at those chubby cheeks!

Thank you, Lord, for this beautiful, healthy boy!

Quite a Week

 Megan was so beautiful and healthy at the shower. She seemed to be having a great time! (I swear it will take 2 hours to open all her gifts.)

Michael says she felt very bad gall bladder pain that night and he brought her to the hospital. It looked like she was going to have surgery, but they decided not to do it.  At one point, the pain was so bad (says Michael) that they gave her morphine. Who knows why they sent her home.

Then a few nights ago, she was having terrible cramps. They told her to drink water and if it didn't subside after a certain point to go to the hospital to be evaluated. She actually called me, rather than texting, to tell me what was going on. It seemed possible Thomas Michael was going to make an early debut.

She had this thing that closes up the cervix (I can't remember the name) that was done a while back to keep the baby from being born early. This was removed and the contractions soon subsided. She was able to go back home again.

Megan says she now has "Frequent Flyer" miles at the hospital.

We are going there tomorrow for dinner. It's better this way because Michael can't leave her and she shouldn't be that far from home. Poor girl is on a boring diet because of the gall bladder. She says the first thing she's going to eat after the damned thing is removed is a big, fat Italian hero.

I hope Tommy waits a bit longer. Mike and I are getting DTaP vaccinations on Tuesday. These will prevent us from spreading whooping cough, which can be deadly. I guess it lies dormant in some of us.

My Heart is so full of Love

Look at this precious boy! My little grandson, Thomas Michael, had his first 3D pic this week!

About 7 weeks to go!

That little nose! (He's leaning up against his arm.)
 

Dog and Bones

 Not a dog's bone. Mickey went to the vet last week and other than being FAT he did very well. His  blood work came back normal (thank goodness). He has an infection in both ears and they treated him for that. With the bloodwork, ear treatment and regular stuff, the visit came to over $800!!!! Thank God we aren't poor but it still hurts. That's a lot of money from seniors like Mike and me. 

As far as bones, it's me. I'm going for a bone density test in about an hour. My doctor has wanted me to get one for a long time but it's my oncologist who talked me into it. I hear it's pretty easy, like an X-ray. Sitting in the waiting room will be a bore but at least it will be done with. I'm on an estrogen blocker (Letrozole) that apparently messes with your bones. I take calcium so maybe that helps. I think my bones are pretty strong. I only ever broke one, when I smashed my toe into a table leg years ago. 

Update on Megan, Michael and the baby: all is well! The shower is in a few weeks.

Baby Update and Memorial Day

 All is well with Thomas Michael. Megan told a cute story. She asked for pictures but the nurse said the baby was facing her back. As soon as she said that, Tommy turned around and faced the 'camera.' You can see his cute little fingers. (I need to load the pics onto my computer so I can put them in here.)

We had all the kids here for Memorial Day, although we did celebrate on Sunday because Katherine had to work Monday. I surprised Andrew with corn fritters, but I had him actually cook them (I  made the batter) because he's had experience as a fry cook. They were made with corn I cut off the cob last August and have had in the freezer. They were really good!

We had hot dogs, hamburgers, venison sausage (from my sister Martha), and steak. Also had onion patties (they tasted good but looked messy--which is why I had Andrew handle the corn fritters), potato-egg salad and a really good broccoli salad Michael brought. That was a recipe from my mother's cookbook.

Oh, and I made fresh-squeezed lemonade. 

It was a lovely day and I did say 'thanks' to my dad, Mike Sr., and my brother for their service. 

Follow Up

 The kids went for a follow-up visit last Friday. Megan's procedure was actually to have a stitch put in to keep her cervix tight, and it's holding just fine.

Baby Tommy is doing great!

On Saturday, Mike and I met up with some friends of his from the gym who gave us a bunch of really high-end baby equipment, including a beautiful stroller. I can't wait to take my baby grandson for walks! 

We had dinner at Catfish Annie's. The people, Rosemary and Bob, were so nice. I hate meeting new people but I felt very comfortable with them. 

I always says I'm unsociable...but I'm NOT unfriendly.

TODAY'S NEWS: Mickey got out of the back yard because someone (his initials are Mike Pastore) did not completely latch the gate. I didn't even know he was gone until I went to feed the birds about 20 minutes after I let him out. I had checked the gate and from my POV it looked closed. But I guess it was open enough for Mickey to get out.

Luckily, Nicky was home and we found the dog fairly quickly. It did make a neighbor a bit nervous but I explained he's a very nice dog.

And I still plan to be doubly careful about that stupid gate.

Worries

 Megan went for her every-other-week checkup yesterday. She ended up having some kind of procedure to make sure the baby doesn't come early. Michael said she was in a lot of pain and they might have kept her overnight. I'm going to text him in a little while to ask how things are going. I feel bad for them, but also glad that they have such a good medical team. Megan is 'high risk,' so they are really keeping watch over her!

Meantime, and importantly, Thomas Michael is doing great and Michael says he's really kicking up a storm!

Easter Sunday

 We spent Easter Sunday at John and Noreen's, as usual. Dinner was leg of lamb. Best gravy ever!

Katherine and Andrew

Mike. Noreen in the back. Zach the dog waiting for scraps.

Noreen, John, Katherine, Andrew.

I was the one taking pictures.

Coloring Eggs 2023

 A few pics of our egg color night. 

Megan and Michael looking over an old Easter Scrapbook.

Katherine and her friend Michelle with some little Easter animals I crocheted. Katherine says my duck looks like it had lip injections.

My Grandpa McNally

 This is my Grandfather, Herbert Patrick McNally. He is Thomas Michael's (that's the new baby's name!) Great-Great-Grandfather! He is about 51 years old here. 

GREAT NEWS

 It's a healthy baby boy!

|Megan is due early September and Mike and I are going to have a grandson. I am SOOO over the moon happy!

We met at Catfish Annie's today and Megan and Michael had cupcakes for everyone. We had to wait until after dinner :( but I got to take the first bite to reveal the baby's gender. Kind of like a gender reveal party (I think those are dumb) but much nicer and classier. 

Now I get to tell everyone the good news. I have been working on a baby blanket but now that I know it's a boy I can get started on more boy-specific things. It's going to be so much fun. I wish September wasn't so far off! 

Good News and Atlantic City

 

Atlantic City and GOOD NEWS

 Mike and I went to Atlantic City earlier this month with John and Noreen. It was 5x tier points for 2 days, meaning we are that much closer to being Diamonds in 2024. (Many more benefits.) We hoped to reach it this time around but just didn't hit so lucky. It's the first time in a few visits I didn't come home with money in my little safe that I bring.

I got a lot of free play and just kept pumping it back into the machines to get our points. Mike thinks we might have to go at least 2x more this year. Gee, shucks. I did have a good time, though.

Very foggy on our way across the bridge!

We had a very nice dinner (with our points!) at Gordon Ramsey's. Mike and I both had Fish and Chips that were amazing. I brought the leftovers home (there was a LOT) and reheated them in the air fryer and they were delicious.

We also had lunch at Johnny Rockets the next day, which was also very enjoyable. I have to get things I can cut up small because I am currently missing all but one of my teeth on the lower left side. That is another story.

NOW FOR THE GOOD NEWS:

THE BABY IS HEALTHY!!!!!

Michael and Megan went to the doctor today and got a clean bill of health for my grandbaby. I have been praying so hard for them. They've had so much heartache and they deserve to be parents.  Megan is due in September. Updates will follow.