These are a few of our favorite things...

Hi buddy boy,

Today I thought it would be fun to give you a glimpse into your mother's and my favorite things at this very moment as well as those favorite things of ours when we were younger and much younger. This should serve to explain why it may appear from time to time that your mother and I are forcing you to like strange things. You will inevitably compile countless such lists over the course of your life (even if only in your mind) and one of life's simple joys is seeing the ways in which your likes and dislikes have changed.


Mom

Favorite food as a child: Roberto’s Pizza

Favorite drink as a child: Sprite
Favorite book as a child: The Story of  Poppyseed by Barbi Sargent or Get Well, Clown- arounds! by Joanna Cole
Favorite TV show as a child: TGIF, specifically Full House 
<Editor Dad's note: TGIF means "Thank goodness it's Friday" and was two hours of family sitcoms on ABC when Mom and I were growing up>
Favorite movie as a child: Adventures in Babysitting

Favorite song as a child: "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" by Whitney Houston
<Editor Mom's note: I used to dance so hard to this that my Fisher-Price record player would skip>

Mom's caption for this photo: "I don't like this photo. I look poverty stricken"

Favorite food as an adolescent: Meatloaf
Favorite drink as an adolescent: Coca-Cola
Favorite book as an adolescent: Don’t Die, My Love by Lurlene McDaniel
Favorite TV show an adolescent: 90210
Favorite movie an adolescent: Grease or Dirty Dancing  

<Editor Mom's note: I was allowed to watch Dirty Dancing far too young!>
Favorite song an adolescent: "Under the Bridge" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers 

<Editor Mom's note: Not sure about favorite, but it was the first cassingle (also known as a cassette single) I got and it was from Uncle PJ> 

Uncle PJ and Mom

Favorite food right this minute: Texas Toast

Favorite drink right this minute: Ginger Ale
Favorite book right this minute: A Song of Ice and Fire series or the Hunger Games series
Favorite TV show right this minute: Walking Dead or Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, New York and New Jersey
Favorite movie right this minute: Harry Potter anthology

Favorite song right this minute: "Paper Bag" by Fiona Apple

Dad
Favorite food as a child: Sherry-Dempsey shepherd's pie
<Editor Dad's note: browned hamburger, mushroom soup and mashed potatoes. Delish!>
Favorite drink as a child: Lemonade from concentrate
Favorite book as a child: Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Favorite TV show as a child: 3-2-1 Contact
Favorite movie as a child: Disney's Robin Hood
Favorite song as a child: "Bye lo baby" sung by Nana

The author, strangling his newborn brother

Favorite food as an adolescent: Pepperoni pizza
Favorite drink as an adolescent: Mountain Dew
Favorite book as an adolescent: Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
Favorite TV show an adolescent: The Simpsons
Favorite movie an adolescent: The original Star Wars trilogy
Favorite song an adolescent: "A Sort of Homecoming" by U2
<Editor Dad's note: This song was from U2's The Unforgettable Fire album which was the first album I ever owned. Still one of my favorites>

The author with Winston Churchill (aka Uncle Pat)

Favorite food right this minute: Cheese tortellini and chicken from O'Connor's Restaurant and Bar
Favorite drink right this minute: Coke Zero
Favorite book right this minute: A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
Favorite TV show right this minute: Dual Survival
Favorite movie right this minute: The Dark Knight Rises
Favorite song right this minute: "Everything in its right place" by Radiohead


We hope this gives you some insight into who your parents are and who we were but, of course, our favorite thing in this world will always be you.

Love now and then,
Mom and Dad  

Just visiting

Hey Beach Boy, 

As alluded to in the post where you were introduced to your grandparents, there are two vacation getaway spots in our family: Vinalhaven, Maine and Brewster, Massachusetts on Cape Cod. You are a lucky boy! Nana and Papa have the Summer Shack (or Cracker Box Palace depending on which sources you use) in Vinalhaven while Grandma and Grandpa have had their house on Rosemary Lane in Brewster for a number of years and will soon be retiring to live there full time. Both are wonderful places that your mother and I have filled with many memories over the years and we can't wait for you to add memories of your own. 

Vinalhaven is an island that rests in the Penobscot Bay off the coast of Rockland in Maine. It is about a four hour drive up through New Hampshire and along Maine's coast to get to Rockland from our house and then a one hour ferry boat ride across the bay to Vinalhaven. It is not a journey to be taken lightly! Your Nana has been making this journey since she was a little girl and Papa has been going since he met Nana. Uncle Pat and I have been vacationing on the island since we were born and so will you. Mom, of course, has made the trip a number of times and Grandma and Grandpa have visited as well.  

The view from the Summer Shack

When Uncle Pat and I were younger, Nana and Papa would rent a house on the island and we would stay there anywhere from one week to one month but many years ago they were able to buy a cozy A-frame on the water with wonderful views. Over the years they have made improvements to make it their own and Papa has filled up the house and property with all the treasures he finds on the beach but mainly those "treasures" he finds at the swap shop at the town landfill. The latter thrills Nana to no end. Trips to Vinalhaven include beautiful nature walks, kayaking, swimming in freshwater quarries, beach combing, a charming main street and LOBSTER! There is no shortage of fun to be had and Nana and Papa can't wait for your first visit

One man's trash is another's...trash. It's still trash

Much closer to us but no less of an adventure is Grandma's and Grandpa's home in Brewster, Massachusetts on Cape Cod. Grandma and Grandpa built the house in a lovely neighborhood (complete with a lake for swimming and fishing) many years ago and plan to live there full time once Grandpa retires and they sell the Holyoke house. The trip to Brewster takes a little over two hours and the ride becomes beautiful once you are across the Sagamore or Bourne bridges and onto Route 6, which runs the length of the Cape. In addition to swimming and fishing right down the street at Seymour Pond, there are any number of freshwater lakes nearby as well as sandy ocean beaches and trips onto Cape Cod Bay on Grandpa's boat. Cape Cod is a big vacation hot spot so there are countless things to entertain a little boy such as yourself. I'm sure we will try them all. 

Grandpa's boat, the Jiminator on Cape Cod Bay

 Grandma will always be ready to take you to the beach and Grandpa will always be ready to take you fishing so you will be spoiled for choice! One of your mother's and my favorite things to do is sample the locale cuisine either getting delicious steamed clams at the "local" Wooden Shoe or other delicious seafood at our favorite restaurant, The Scargo Cafe. You are too young to appreciate such things now but we look forward to taking you to these places when you're older. The Hadley Moynihans frequently join the party down at the Cape so this summer we will possibly have two grandparents, your aunt, your uncle, your three cousins and two dogs in addition to Mom, you and me in Grandma's and Grandpa's house at one time. Ten people, two dogs!
 

Mom loves the Cape....and LOBSTER!

With two vacation spots from which to choose -both imbued with decades of memories from your mother and I- we hope that visits to Nana's and Papa's Summer Shack and Grandma's and Grandpa's Rosemary Lane will be those treasured memories that you keep for the rest of your life. 

Love, 

A dad for all seasons

The Disaster of the Downstairs Deluge at Dempsey Junction

Dear Scooter Baby,

Last Tuesday we discovered the downside of home ownership when our hot water heater burst and soaked the entirety of the basement. My soccer game that evening was cancelled so I came home early to find the carpet in the family room soaking wet and the sound of rushing water coming from the utility room. After stemming the tide of rushing water and beginning to start bailing the water off the floor, I called your mother so that she could buy a wet/dry vacuum on the way home. The wet/dry vac was missing a piece so worked for about twenty minutes before it met its end. I managed to stop the water from spreading while your very pregnant mother hurried our belongings to dryer ground. It was a nightmare! 

"A handy indicator to determine when a new water heater is needed is when the side of the existing water heater explodes." -Manufacturer's instructions

Fortunately your wonderful Grandpa was on the scene in no time to help with the plumbing and to restore heat. Your mom had a disaster restoration service out that night and they sucked up the remaining water. Grandpa put in a temporary water heater and the next day the disaster restoration service tore up all the carpet and molding that had been affected and the insurance adjuster was out the following day to take stock of what damage had been done. Our lovely, finished basement went to unfinished in a matter of moments and will take a long time to get it back to a comfortable setting. 

Like the mountains stand against time and change so too stands the pool table

However, far from doom and gloom, your mom and I have been able to see the positives more often than not. It was a learning experience and we are grateful for so many things that went right when something went wrong:

-Thank goodness your Grandpa is a master plumber

-Thank goodness your Papa, Uncle Pat and I built shelves three days earlier so that there were very few belongings on the floor

-Thank goodness my soccer game got cancelled so your mother didn't have to initially deal with the flood by herself

-Thank goodness your mom stays calm when I'm not and took care of the insurance company and disaster restoration service

-Thank goodness you hadn't arrived yet! 

Your play area will be that lovely section of plywood

It will take some doing and some extra money to get the basement back in shape but we're grateful that it wasn't worse and it's easy to look forward and past the basement when we think of the fact that you'll soon be with us! I've never been very good at moving on from things as I have a tendency to dwell on situations I cannot change but I can tell you that it's not a good way to live. It's better to find the positives and let go of what can't be changed. Hopefully you are more like your mother in this regard than I. 

Your mother is never one to hide from adversity or a challenge

One positive that was easy to see at the end of a horrible week was a visit from Nana's sisters (also known as your crazy great aunts). Aunt Christine, Aunt Dree and Aunt Maria stopped by the house to survey the flood damage like so many visiting dignitaries in the news and then we visited a lovely coffee shop in town for some caffeine and conversation. Uncle Pat also came by so, aside from the absence of flu-ridden Papa, it was a perfect visit with the perfect company!  

Mom, Uncle Pat, Aunt Dree, Aunt Maria, Nana, Aunt Christine and me

We don't see your crazy great aunts as often as we'd like so we really enjoyed the afternoon and look forward to seeing them again when they come to meet you.

Love,

Dad

A letter from Grandma and Grandpa!

Hi Sweet Baby,

Where do we begin to tell you how excited we all are about you coming into our lives? Your Mom & Dad told us last summer (2012) that they were having a baby.  Grandpa & I were so excited we started jumping up and down, hugging your Mom  & Dad, and, yes, crying a few “happy” tears. Rosie, our dog who I know you will love and who will love you, was excited too mainly because she loves your Dad and really loves your Mom. Then Uncle PJ & Auntie Steph called and guess what? – they already knew about you coming. It was a happy day!

Rosie (also known as Rosie Girl, Rose, Rose Bud, Rose Petal and occasionally #*%^@$!!! when she runs away)

My name is Winnie and I am your Grandma. Your Grandpa is Jim and we are your Mom’s mother and father. We adopted your beautiful mother in 1983 when she was two weeks old. She came into our family on a beautiful September day, one of the best days of our lives.  Uncle PJ was three years old then.  We had adopted him in 1980 (Someday we will tell you all about adoption). Together we formed the Moynihan Family. Your Mom and Uncle PJ are the best part of our very happy life. And that’s a lot to say about them because of how much we love your Dad, Auntie Steph and your cousins, Alexandria, Aurora, and Amo. 

Grandma and Aurora

Your Mom is a wonderful daughter and Grandpa & I are very proud of her. She is such a hard worker and has lots of friends and loves to have fun. She has kind of a loud laugh that we all have gotten used to, probably even you. Your Mom is not afraid to speak her mind and express her opinion, but she is kind and thoughtful. Mom was a happy, good little girl but sometime she had to go to “time out” (I’ll tell you more about that some day too). 

Mom and Grandpa

Your Dad is a really good guy. We have known him for about nine years and we were all so happy on May 28, 2010 when your Dad and Mom got married. He loves your Mom so much! They have so much fun together and will have so much fun with you, their Scooter Baby.

Grandpa and I have lots of brothers and sisters who are your Great Uncles and Great Aunts. They are all so excited to meet you. They are Uncle Pat & Auntie Sharon, Uncle Fred & Auntie Barb, Uncle John Romas and Auntie Judi, Uncle John Moynihan and Auntie Joanne, Uncle Mickey and Auntie Peggy, Uncle Jay and Auntie Katie, and Uncle Ned. Wow!! Lots of Cousins too. Wow!!

The Moynihan siblings: Uncle Pat, Auntie Judi, Grandpa, Auntie Barb and Uncle John
and
The O'Neill siblings: Uncle Ned, Grandma, Auntie Katie and Auntie Peggy

So our beautiful boy – get ready for a fun-filled, family-filled, much loved life.

Love, 
Grandma & Grandpa

Getting to know (and how to unchoke) you

Dear Scooter B, 

Yesterday morning we visited your mom's obstetrician, Dr. Meyers to check on you since you'll only be staying inside your mother for another 10 weeks (if that!). The ultrasound technician made sure that the parts inside Mom designed to keep you safe and sound were working correctly and then we got to take a peek at you. You are now over four pounds and looking more and more like a little person each day. We saw your little leg bones through the ultrasound and your cute, little face. You did not appear to like having the ultrasound tool pressed on your head as you kept raising your hands, almost like you were pushing it away. We think you might have my nose but your mom's cute cheeks. We can't wait to see what you look like! 

That's you, looking at us with at least one eye

 After the appointment, we played hooky from work to get some lunch and then we both had to work for the rest of the day. Fortunately, your mom and I could both work at home that afternoon. Unfortunately, we had to go to a "Infant Safety and Infant CPR" class right after work at St. Vincent's hospital. It was a long day!

At the class, we learned how to keep you safe, healthy and to take care of you if ever you became unhealthy. Learning how to save a baby from choking and how to deliver infant CPR was well worth the time and price of admission but the rest of the class was a little silly in my opinion. Many of the lessons taught were so obvious that the class would be better held as a course people have to take to determine if the state will allow them to have a baby. For example, you are not even born and will be very young when you first read this but I suspect you already know that babies shouldn't be allowed to eat coins or household cleaning chemicals. These lessons and many others that fall under the "Basic Common Sense" category were reviewed. My favorite lesson was explaining that babies can drown in less than an inch of water including water found in:

-Buckets

-Bathtubs

-Toilets

-Pools

-Drainage ditches

As tempting a place to play as this may appear, STAY AWAY!

"Wait..drainage ditches?", you might ask. Yes, drainage ditches. Why this place was added to the list is beyond me but I think if we let you play in or near drainage ditches then we have another problem aside from drowning. I mean, my parents let me play ONLY in drainage ditches when I was a kid but times have changed, Scooter and we know better now. Also in the now knowing better category, your mother and I had a refresher on CPR training complete with all the new techniques and practiced delivering CPR to dummy babies who had no arms or legs (or souls if their hollow eyes suggested anything). This was the highlight of the class and both your mother and I are much more confident that we could take care of you in an emergency. Just stay away from drainage ditches.  

Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Smith! It's a....FREAK!

The lowlight of the class was an obnoxious father-to-be sitting in the front row and making obnoxious comments with his obnoxious face and obnoxious mouth in an obnoxious manner. It made me feel grateful that your father is so awesome and not at all obnoxious. He is also very tolerant of others.

Artist's representation of that obnoxious father-to-be

All in all it was a busy day that left your poor mother exhausted but it was so wonderful to see your little face and your heart beating like crazy. Your body and your mom's body are getting ready to get you out into the real world and your mom and I are prepared to take the best care of you come what may. Can't wait for you to try my patented "Nickels and Dimes" cereal served with Clorox Bleach milk.

Love,

Dad

Welcome to Dempsey Junction!

Hi baby boy,

Welcome to our humble home! Mom and I moved into together way back in 2006 and have lived in two apartments and a rented house before buying our house in April of this past year. It's been a long time coming but we're finally in our home and soon you will be too!

Our first apartment was with Auntie Bunnell in Worcester and was a large but drafty one floor apartment with two bedrooms and plenty of living space at 3 Wakefield Street. Other than the outrageous heating bills during the winter, a minor mouse infestation (we only killed 18 in two weeks!) and a loopy landlady, it was a nice place to live and we hosted many gatherings with our friends. 

3 Wakefield Street: your mom's and my first place together where we lived with Auntie Bunnell for a short time and then with a family of mice

We then moved into a house right across from Lake Chargoggaggoggmancogmanhoggagogg (this is not a joke but the actual Native name) in Webster, Massachusetts with our friends, Chris and Nick in 2007 at 66 Birch Island Road. This was also a fun experience with many friendly gatherings but not without its own share of drafts and the added difficulty of getting accustomed to living among what we'll call Lake People. Living with Lake People (coincidentally the name of Mom's memoirs) involved seeing people sporting not just rat tails coming off their mullets but three rat tails coming off their mullets! It also involved a lot of seeing stuff about NASCAR and hearing about NASCAR. It was a great lesson in tolerance both for us living with Lake People but probably also for the Lake People who had to deal with us (since we never talked about NASCAR). 

66 Birch Island Road: the house wasn't as bad as it looks...it was worse!

 After a year in Webster, your mother and I returned once again to cohabitating without roommates in 2008 when we moved into a little one bedroom apartment back in Worcester at Redwood Hills on Sunderland Road. Space was tight but the heat was free so we enjoyed our nice, toasty apartment for the next three and a half years. It was the longest your mother and I had stayed in one place and it is where we planned both our wedding and our eventual house purchase! It was also the first time we had lived in a corporate owned apartment complex which meant that all we had to do was call maintenance when there was a problem. This was a vast improvement from calling the loopy or grizzled landladies we had in the past. The apartment complex also featured neighbors who, based on the smell, were either boiling babies for dinner or goats but fortunately it also had a pool and a grilling area which we didn't utilize particularly often but often enough to enjoy the outdoors and get away from horrible smells. 

Red wood Hills, 382 Sunderland Road: where it's apparently legal to cook and consume human babies

 Living in a small apartment enabled us to save up enough money to buy a house. The one we selected was a split-level (Mom translation: raised ranch) in the town of Holden, Massachusetts in the village of Jefferson. Holden is much farther from work than the commute to which we were accustomed in Worcester but we love the town, love its shops and restaurants, love the school system for the future Scooter the Scholar and, most importantly, we love our house! 

"Sale Pending" lacks the excitement of the traditional "SOLD!" sign but we took what we could get

Our property is a little over one acre of land on a cul-de-sac (which is a fancy way of saying "dead end") with a big yard, a place for a pool and a quiet, tree filled area. Quiet that is until the Providence & Worcester Rail Road starts rattling and a train passes through our backyard every now and again! Mom and I think that you will love trains; I know I enjoy the train going by except when Mom and I are sleeping. Don't worry though, it doesn't happen often. In addition to our front row seat for the once or twice daily P&W RR show, the house came with a basketball hoop, a pool table AND horse shoe pits. Between that and the nature trails throughout the woods, there will be no shortage of activities for little boys like Amo and you!  

You will hear tales from your mother of when the living room was orange. Orange!, Scooter, orange!

Your mother and I have worked hard over the last several months to make the house into our home. At times it has seemed slow going but, at the end of the day, we have to remember that we have a lifetime to fill the house up with both furniture and memories. One important area to start is the nursery! The room is painted, we have your crib, your bureau and your bookshelf all set up and ready to go and soon we'll start organizing everything. We frequently walk by your room and look at the empty crib with smiles on our faces thinking about how soon you will fill it. 

This is where you'll sleep. It is non-negotiable but we have added a mattress. We're not monsters after all

 We can't wait for you to come home and we can't wait for you to put your stamp on the house (not literally. Please do not stamp anything on the walls, floors or furniture). 

All my love,

Dad

Meet the family: Auntie Sarah "Toddy", "Todd" Bunnell

Hey Scooter Boy, 

Today, I'd like to introduce you to your primary, non-family relative, Auntie Sarah Bunnell. Sarah is your mother's best friend and has been since childhood so, while not related to either your mom's family or my family, she is your aunt nonetheless. Auntie Sarah, or Bunnell as I will now refer to her for the remainder of this post, will also honor your mother and I by acting as your godmother (unless she wrongs Mom or I in the next two months in which case we will cut her both from being your godmother and literally, with a blade).  

Your aunt in her current patriotic (and un-lacerated) state.

 Bunnell lives with her fiancee, Tim in Colchester, Vermont, which is a lovely town in which she went to college and now works. It is just a stone's throw from our house if the person throwing the stone can throw it several hundred miles. To those with an average throwing arm, it is several hundred stone's throws away. You and I will always make Mom drive to Bunnell's so that we can take naps over the course of the 3+ hour drive. I may sit in the back with you and we can make Mom wear a chauffeur's hat just to set the right mood. By the time you are born, visits to see Bunnell will hopefully be to the new house she is buying with Tim! 

So, if you're keeping score at home, Bunnell just recently got engaged, is planning a wedding, buying a house, her godson will be born in March AND Tim and her are getting a dog. Compared to that, having a baby sounds easy!  

Bunnell celebrating her skillful kill and subsequent hat making of a raccoon with Tim.

 Bunnell grew up on the same block as Mom in Holyoke and they have been friends as long as they both can remember. They are quite funny together and I always enjoy my time with the two of them immensely. When I first moved in with your Mom, the three of us were roommates for a short time. It was mostly fun but Bunnell will never go to a Blockbuster with us again due to your mother's and my bickering about what  to watch (NOTE: Blockbuster was a chain of movie rental stores when movies were primarily on VHS and DVD. They failed to anticipate the changing market and now they are a cautionary tale for other businesses. I will explain what a VHS is to you in person someday). Anyway, your Auntie Sarah is one of my favorite people and has become a great friend to me. 

This is a VHS. Also, called a "tape", a "cassette" or "archaic"

What is obvious is that Bunnell is one of the many people who cannot wait to meet you. What is not so obvious is why your mother and Bunnell call each other "Toddy" or "Todd". I will let your mother explain this one to you as I am not intimately familiar with (or particularly interested in) the origins of why your crazy mother and crazy aunt call each other a gentleman's name. I'm sure the rationale is as solid and sensible as that behind why you are called Scooter Baby.  

All sorts of "Todds"

 In closing, I haven't highlighted Bunnell's fiancee, Tim yet but he is a wonderful guy who makes your aunt very happy. Not that I would say otherwise in the blog (I just wouldn't say anything because if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it. And definitely don't put it on the internet) but your mother and I very much approve of Tim for our little Bunnell and are looking forward to ditching you for an evening or two in 2014 to celebrate their wedding! Visits to see them and visits from them will almost certainly always be warm, enjoyable affairs.

Keep it real,

Dad