Day trip

We got up well before dawn on Sunday to go check out a local fishing dock, called Sassoon Dock.

The sights were AMAZING, and while photography is prohibited on the dock itself, I did manage to sneak a few from afar. (Note: It was dark and pouring rain while we were there, so photographing the sites was difficult-especially balancing an umbrella- please bear with some slightly blurry shots.)

It was like we were transported back by 100 years....wooden fishing boats were tied together, then tied to the dock. Men were squatting in mountains of fish on the boats, putting them into woven baskets, then throwing them up one at a time to people on the dock. The baskets would then make their way to the vendors along the dock, all of them shouting out bids on their fish. It was like Wall Street, but wet and dirty and fishy.

Another cool experience here in Mumbai!

Tyler Henry is here!

I'm proud to announce the newest member of our extended family, Tyler Henry Piazze!

Tyler arrived on Saturday, August 28th at 5:38 pm. He measured in at 7lbs 3oz, 20.5"

Congratulations to my brother Tom, his wife Jena and 2-yr-old Lily!

We are so happy for them! And- so happy that the Piazze name will be carried on!

Isn't he just gorgeous?!

"LOOK OUT WORLD, HERE I COME!"

He's a BOY

Ryan had his first (of many, I'm sure) incident today.

He slipped on the tile floor and split his chin open. And oh my goodness, the blood!

I called the driver to meet me in the lobby in 15 seconds and he rushed us to the hospital up the hill. I ran inside where the pediatrician allowed me to interrupt his current patient (there is no ER here), and walked me over to the surgeon's office. She recommended a stitch or two, and I agreed. The poor child was screaming the entire time.

She had us sit in the waiting area while she prepped for the procedure....and Ryan proceeded to fall asleep. Hmmm, how much was it really hurting him? By the time we were called into the room for stitches, I'd changed my mind and asked her to just put a bandage on the cut. It's just under his chin, so not visible from frontal view, and has mended itself just fine.

Here he is, bandage and all- his first bloody incident at 14 months old. I think Mommy was more freaked out than anyone else!

Remembering

Today, we are remembering and celebrating our son, JohnThomas.

Hugs, hugs, hugs, little boy! We miss you and love you so so so much.

Some of you have asked about JohnThomas and his/our story...and I'm so happy for that. Please, do not be embarrassed to ask- I LOVE the opportunity to acknowledge him and remember him!

JohnThomas was due in late Oct 2007. We had a scare with extra fluid on the brain and in the sac, so we were referred for a Level II ultrasound. The high-risk doctor saw nothing immediately wrong and recommended that we return every 2 weeks to be monitored.

But suddenly in mid-Aug, I stopped feeling the baby move. I was 31 weeks pregnant.

JohnThomas was delivered via c-section (he was breech) on Aug 16th, 2007. He weighed 3 lbs, 8 ounces and was 16.5" long. We were able to spend the day with him, holding and cuddling with him. We dressed him in a cute sleeper for the day, then changed him into a hand-made burial gown someone had donated to the hospital. We took lots of pictures. He looked just like Mike- even down to his fingernails.

My mother flew in the night before to be with us. Mike's mom flew in a week later, and then my Aunt (and Godmother) came to support us, too. Words cannot express our appreciation for their help.

The initial grief was horrible. I'd spend hours awake in the middle of the night sobbing and sobbing. I was in a fog and had trouble giving Catherine my full attention. A friend loaned me a book that saved my life..."Empty Cradle, Broken Heart". I sat up at night reading this and was so grateful to know I wasn't alone. I joined a group called H.A.N.D....Houston's Aid in Neonatal Death. It was eye-opening to discover how many others have suffered similar losses. Friends surrounded us and the support was amazing and humbling.

We never did find out what happened...but we are at peace with that now. God had a plan for us and we were blessed with another son just 22 months later. Life has been rich for us, despite this loss. JohnThomas was cremated and we keep his ashes on our mantle so he is always with us.

We still think of JohnThomas every single day. I wonder what he'd be like, what his voice would sound like, what his favorite toy would be. But we KNOW he's in Heaven, watching us and talking to us and laughing with us.

JohnThomas is our angel- pure and simple. xxx

First Day of School

Catherine started her first day of school today!


This year, she is in EC4 at the American School of Bombay (ASB)...and is VERY excited about it! Can you tell??


The classroom has a unique setup....while there are officially 2 "classes", the 40 kids are sometimes combined for specific activities, while other times the kids are split up into "teams" for a specific learning point. Her teachers are Mrs. Khushmuna and Ms. Tanvi.

I can only imagine the chaos with 40 4-year-olds in this room at once! Yikes!


Although Catherine and her BFF Holly have been placed in different classes, they managed to find each other within 5 minutes!


Catherine loves learning! She is currently reading and spelling 3- and 4-letter words. We are working on sh- and th- words. She can write her numbers 1-100. She still loves art and her pretend play has advanced to a whole new level of enthusiasm-bordering-on-obsession (the truth is, I can't keep up...there are only so many "voices" a mommy can do each day!).


We are very excited to watch our little girl blossom even more this year at ASB! YAY EC4!

As smooth as butter

The kids and I began our journey back to Mumbai on Saturday morning and landed on Sunday night. It was a long trip, BUT it was the best trip the kids have had. I could not have asked for more!

On the plane, I started counting how many legs of that trip each child has done. Cate totals 7 legs, Ryan 5. W0W- they are VERY seasoned travelers.

Things that went in our favor:
- arrived at the airport at the perfect time- not too early, not too late.
- managed to do some shuffling amongst bags to reduce overweight charges to only 2 bags- one initially weighed in at 79 lbs- yikes! Hey, I've gotta have my food! :)
- Ryan napped on the flight to Newark, Cate watched a movie.
- Our anticipated 3 hour layover was reduced to a mere 50 minutes thanks to leaving Houston a bit late.
- We had one last American treat before boarding the plane: a Ben & Jerry's cookies-n-cream milkshake that we all fought over (even Ryan!)...worth every penny of the $5.50 I spent on it!
- Our flight to Mumbai departed on time. THIS, people, is a MIRACLE.
- I'd pre-ordered kids meals and we all managed to stay awake long enough to eat dinner and fill our bellies.
- Once Ryan fell asleep, I layed him on the floor and he proceeded to sleep for about 8 hours. He woke up for 1.5 hours, then slept for 3 more!
- Cate colored and watched a bit of TV, declared she was tired, and layed down next to Ryan on the floor, and slept for 7 hours.
- I got a little alone time, watched 2 movies and got 4-6 hours of on-and-off sleep.
- We landed EARLY (another miracle) in Mumbai.
- All our immigration paperwork passed inspection without issue.
- All our bags showed up on the belt.
- Mike was waiting for us outside the airport, and we were so happy!

So, it's safe to say that we landed with smiles on our faces and I'd like to thank God and all his angels for watching over us on our trip!

We are happy to be back! Reunions with friends have been fun, and school starts tomorrow...stay tuned for pics!

My name is not Carole

I called my normal nail place today to make an appointment, and introduced myself as Tara. I asked if they had an appointment for a specific time later this week and when the woman confirmed the time, she said "OK, Carole, we'll see you then."

Who did she think she was talking to?

My name is TARA! You know, the person who's been coming to your store for 5 years?!

I swear on my life, I've been mistaken (on the phone) as "Carole" for about 20 years now.

It's always the same. It's never Sarah. Or Cara. Or even Mara. It's ALWAYS Carole.

It must be the way I say my name. Maybe the New York "aaaaaa" in Taaaaara? Caaaarole. Nope. I still don't hear the similarity.

So- just to set the record straight: My name is Tara. NOT Carole.

Has this happened to anyone else out there?