Back to School - 1 down 3 to go!

Samantha goes back to school today! 3rd grade - I KNOW! I can't believe it either. She is very excited. I hope she has a great year and learns lots and makes lots of new friends. Steve is home one last day today so she is excited her Daddy will be home to take her to school and pick her up. Also she knows she'll get an egg sandwich out of him in the morning. It always comes back to food for my kids :)

Bella goes back on Wednesday and Steven starts 1st grade on Thursday. It's gonna be a busy week! Oh and we didn't forget about Sophia she gets to go to a nursery school 2 days a week starting on Monday. She is very excited also!

We're home!!!

Actually we have been home since Saturday :) Technically we weren't supposed to come home until yesterday but the thing is my wonderful OB didn't see me on Saturday morning she sent one of her colleagues. He came in an commented on how great I looked and I JOKINGLY said

"really! thanks how about letting me go home today?" he then said

"sure - no problem let me start the paperwork"

SWEET ! I wasn't about the argue. Look I am not stupid I know I just had "major" surgery - well that is what everyone calls it. Major surgery to me would mean like Oh... I don't know - a heart transplant. A c-section doesn't seem like such a big deal for me it's the only way I can deliver a baby. They make a little cut (really it's like 3 inches at the most) pull the baby out and close me up. OK I will tell you the Dr. did say this time around after seeing my insides close up that there would be no more children for me. This is the first time after a delivery that I agreed and wasn't planning another pregnancy...lol With that said even though this might have been a more challenging surgery for the Dr's it was the easiest recovery so far. I didn't look like death hours later and I really felt great. I was up walking within 6 hrs and took no pain meds. So of course, when the Dr. offered to let me go home I jumped all over it. I swear my bags were packed within minutes. I know everyone says - stay in the hospital and rest. Take advantage of the quiet, blah blah blah. Well I hate the quiet and can't rest in the hospital. The bed sucks the shower sucks the food sucks all of it sucks - except for the part of getting to bring a new little baby home oh and the ice. The hospital has great ice!

So we get home and I am in a hot shower within minutes. Best shower ever! While in the shower the phone rings which I am unaware of. Into the bathroom walks Steve with the phone and hands it to me shaking his head. I still have no idea who is on the phone but try reminding him I was still in the shower - HELLO. So I take the phone and say hello. I hear:

"Cheryl I am standing in your hospital room looking at an empty room with you no where in sight - where could you be?"

I explain that I was in the shower and the caller said she had checked the bathroom and I wasn't in there. I then told the caller I was in the shower at my home. Well this did not go over well. See the caller was my OB and she was very very very disappointed in me for leaving the hospital. She reminded me of that "major" surgery which I replied it was just child birth..lol That didn't go over well either. She went on to make me feel like an 10 yr old that just go busted for breaking curfew. To make matters worse Steve is screaming in the background that he told me not to go home and that I would get in trouble and that he agreed with the my OB and blah blah - he was just as scared of her as I was and was kissing as much ass as possible at that moment. Thanks babe for the support. Steve loves the hospital - he thinks everything is great about it yet he's never been the patient so I am sure his attitude would change if he were in my shoes.

Needless to say we're home and doing well. We have had a few moments so far. It doesn't matter whether you are coming home with your 1st baby or your 5th you are never prepared for that first night. The only difference between the 2 is that with your first you freak out about EVERYTHING that first night. You get no sleep because you are too busy checking to make sure the baby is breathing and is he cold or hot - a list of things. Now with the 5th you still worry but in such a non-worry way. If we had secret camera's set up in our room Saturday we would have won the top prize on America's funniest video's. It was a comedy routine. We needed a diaper - couldn't find them. Steve was yelling at the water because it wasn't getting hot quick enough. The other kids woke up because the baby was screaming and they thought they could help since we weren't "getting it". Sophia would scream from her room "the baby is crying!!!!!" but wouldn't get out of her bed. So now were screaming back at Sophia " No kidding kid were working on it" Now at this point I am crying - if it were the first kid I would be crying cause I was freaking out and wasn't sure what we were doing wrong. I was crying this time cause I was laughing so hard it brought me to tears. I am cracking up as I type this just remembering it. In the morning Steve went around to make a mental checklist of everything we needed for the next night....lol Diapers to a nightlight made the list. Oh that man is soooo dying for an ambien. By the time we woke up Sunday morning our room had looked like a war zone with our bed being ground zero. The 2 of us were haphazardly sprawled out in every direction. I had fallen asleep while still holding the baby who luckily was bumpy enough to wake Steve when he tried to roll over and wasn't sure what was in his way. The next night went way smoother. Everyone slept nicely with little interruption.

Here's too laughing our way through all the "firsts" we get to have one last time

Please meet our new son Anthony Louis Pepe

Named after Steve's grandfathers Anthony was born on Thursday, September 3 @ 1:52 pm. He, as the Dr. nicely put it, delivered himself. He weighed in at a whopping 8lbs 1oz and is 21 inches long and has 3 chins - he got that from Steve :). He is a little chunka monka. He's eating well and has a nice set of lungs on him so no mistaking he's definitely my kid. We should be breaking out of the hospital Sunday morning but I am wondering if I play my cards right maybe they will let me leave Saturday night - now that would be sweet. Really I am sitting around twiddling my thumbs. I hate the hospital stay. I can't really rest here - I need my own bed. Oh and the water pressure and temperature SUCKS! My morning shower is like my cup of java.

OK enough with that - I know you want some pictures. These are just a few - you know there will be more to come:

This was a few hours after he was born. You know you have a lot of kids when you can look at this picture and laugh. We had no sympathy for him as he threw this fit. We thought it was cute - look at the little baby cry - Ahhhhh so sweet


As it was with Steven - Anthony too has inherited the "FREAK" foot. Not sure who he gets it from but nonetheless it's still a "freak" foot...lol


All of these pictures were taken with my iphone so some are blurred a bit - I thought this was a sweet one of Sam even if it isn't in focus:


Steven with his new baby brother!



Bella was sooo excited!


Now Sophia demanded her turn to hold the baby. So we placed the baby on her lap and she attempted to give him his pacifier which he wanted nothing to do with:


So Sophia got mad and proceeded to push the baby off her lap...lol 6 hands came out of no where to catch him as did mine hence the reason for the blurred shot. Oh boy fun times are ahead :)


Here he is less than a day old an already asking for seconds. I swear can I have 1 child that doesn't eat NON- STOP!


Now he's begging:


I told him to gimme a minute and this is the face I got - we like to call this "mad face" I think Sam had the best "mad face".

OH BOY! Today is the day!

Just got the call from the Dr. we are off in a bit to the hospital. Need to beat out the 1 o'clock c-section so my OB wants us there at 10am and get us in around 11:30 -12:00. Sweet!!!!!!!

I am taking my laptop - there had better be wi-fi or I will be breaking out even sooner from the hospital.

Can't wait to meet the little guy - the kids are very excited. Sophia has been calling him Fred which Steve has been encouraging so he is telling her we are leaving soon to go get Fred. The child already thinks the baby comes in the stroller box from the baby store so lets keep confusing her with the name.

A nice day with the ladies!

Today Steve planned a nice lunch for me today to celebrate the arrival of #5. Man it'll be nice to stop saying #5 I could just use his name and tell you but with only 3 more days to go why ruin it.
It was a really nice lunch at La Tavola in Sayville. Steve found this place a few months ago and we just love it there. The food is all delicious! Knowing Steve's love for food I knew the menu would be great and non-stop. It was all perfect from the first appetizer to the dessert!

It's times like this when I am not taking pictures that I wish I had a personal photographer to bring with me. Instead I am pleased to share pictures Samantha took.

Here we have Sophia and Bella - Sam obviously has them saying something to the camera - your guess is as good as mine.



Sophia just assumes this is all for her seeing how it's "HER" baby that's coming. So she opened and read the cards:



then she opened the gift:



she then handed me the gift to hold while she started in on the next gift:



Oh here she let me hold the gift since she couldn't figure out how to open it. Look its a onesie/sock bouquet from Veronica - isn't it the cutest thing!!!


Well that's really all I have. The baby received lots of beautiful gifts. I forgot how much fun it was dressing a boy. Overalls - are so cute!! I can't believe he is gonna be here in just a few days now!!! Steve installed the car seat yesterday without much effort. I think this is the first car seat in all these years that went in without Steve losing his mind. Really it was installed in under like 5 min. YES IT'S INSTALLED PROPERLY. When we got into the car today with the kids they saw the car seat and thought we were going to the hospital to have the baby. At the lunch the kids bought the baby an exersaucer and there was a picture of a baby on the box and for about 10 min. Sophia was convinced the baby was in the box and demanded we open it and let the baby out...lol

Steve - Thank you for a wonderful day it really was perfect! I love you !

It all started with too much time on our hands

September 2001 - Steve took me to the Oakdale Arboretum. Neither of us had ever been. I think it was on our list of places to take pictures during our wedding but we never made it here. We had a really nice time - little did I know then that he was killing time before my baby shower he threw for me later that same day when I was pregnant with Samantha. Anyway, if you ask him about any of his favorites pictures of me he says this one. Really?!?! I think it's a horrible picture and I could think of 1000 others but he says that it's not just the picture but the reminder of that day and how nice it was for us. I know he's a real sweetheart :) He keeps it in his office.

So I recently thought of recreating it. I asked my sister-in-law Lori to come and take pictures of me and the kids and to help me with recreating this picture.

So this is the original one 8 yrs ago - ughhh



August 2009 - 8 yrs and almost 5 kids later and lots of pure craziness here we - well really just me - now. I am in the same area just 1 aisle of Dahlia's up because the row I stood in in the first picture had too many dead flowers in it...lol




Bella and Samantha taking the pose - Sophia said no




I wanted some shots with me and the kids - it turned out to be way to hot and we were getting eaten alive from the bugs. The kids were troopers and did their best.








I can only imagine what she is telling Aunt Lori in this picture....



A year later we went back and had Samantha with us. She was just standing and I have a picture of her standing next to this bird bath - so we made her stand there now. If I get the original scanned in I'll add it later:


Then we have Sam playing in the bird bath many yrs ago - so Lori made Sophia do it this time around:




OK so remember the movie The Family Stone....the one with Sarah Jessica Parker??? Great movie - go rent it if you haven't seen it. At the end Sarah has framed a picture of the mother in the movie when she was pregnant and she gives them to the adult children. It was really sweet but I always loved the concept of the picture. I don't have a lot of pictures of me through my pregnancies so I wanted to make sure to take something similar to the picture in the movie this time. If the kids look at the picture and remember they will be able to figure out who I am pregnant with because of the background or they can just pretend it is any one of them. We tried a few different poses but these 2 were the keepers and the last one has already been enlarged and framed and is awaiting a spot on a wall somewhere in the house.



Lori - Thanks for taking the pictures and for the alterations you did to this one - I really like it the best and had it printed exactly how you sent it!




I had them framed and gave them to Steve for his office. He loved them!

Weekend filled with family, friends food and fun!

Well if anything would have put me into labor it would have been this past weekend but here I sit on Monday morning.......still pregnant :)

(I know this is Wed. but I have been trying to post this since Mon. and the blog site has been having issues)

We started with Saturday and a back to school pool party for the shortman. He invited all his friends over and had a blast. It was nice to get to see all the kids and get to know the parents better than we did. It was a great party - problem is I took NO pictures. I know I can't believe it either but it was HOT and we rarely left the pool. Pictures were taken from other Mom's and I am sure they will find their way to me soon.

After Steven's party we packed up and headed over to my sister-in-laws for my nieces birthday party. Another great time was had. For this I have pictures :)



Sophia getting a push.....



The boys being wild on the slide - Frank jumping - I am thinking he is too big for this now


Here comes Vincent:


Steven who is 30 lbs wet gets a little too much bounce:


A massive water balloon fight broke out:



Uncle Frankie was attacked from all angles and so he cheated using the pail and filled it with water to dump on the kids:


Being the good Uncle he is he gave Sophia a little help with soaking him



Sam tried a sneak attack but got caught and then thrown into the pool



Group shot of all the cousins - hey you try and get 11 kids to all look at the camera at once




Sunday we had the 3rd BBQ for the weekend and I have only 2 pictures. Bella mastering the cannonball and Sam getting thrown into space - you know Steve was hurting the next day for that stunt