Happy Birthday......

Today Nana T is the big 87. Happy Birthday Nana T, We saw her on Sunday and brought her "the tastiest chocolate". She loves chocolate and was so glad to see the box. We got her 85th b-day bear a new Happy Birthday Cupcake to hold and she loved it. She is ok not on the top of her game. From back in November with our scare of losing her she is still able to know us but with much promting.

Yesterday was my babies 15th birthday. My my .....15 years ago. I can not fatham where the time has gone. I love you Stephen, if you keep growing we will have to raise the roof. lol He really is a good kid, hard worker knows what he wants when he gets older and is so compassionate towards others feelings. XOXOOXOX U will always be my baby! Mama loves u big guy!

This says it all pizzans.....lol

"ITALIANS"** I never asked to be born Italian, I was just blessed by it. Because we can't all be Italian, just the lucky ones are blessed with the gift. "Being Italian, is not just your heritage. It's your way of being, your attitude, it's what makes you proud."


I got this from an Italian gal I work with. She rocks.....Love ya Ash....She so gets the Italian thing.....xoxoxo

Early to work! Gets you home early in the day....haray!

Not me...Stephen....He is quite the cash earner these days. Today he put in a solid four hours and tomorrow he will be doing five hours. He is glad that he will be done by 11 am so his day is still his. Off to an early and I mean early drive to the rink. He has to be there for 5:45 am. I being an early bird will be taking him but needless to say have always had the notion that if you are 15 mins early you will be on time. I am anal about being early b/c on time stresses me out. Better early than late. I am sure we will be in the car for 505 AND he wants a MilkyWay Hot coco but I ma not sure if Dunks will be open that early. We will see. It is not like we have never been to hockey games that early before but we never made a Dunks stop so we will see if the poor Dunks workers have to be up even earlier. Have a good night/morning........

Who cares what my name is I just wish I could live in Hawaii! Maui to be exact...

Your Hawaiian Name is:

Palila Mily

What's your Hawaiian Name?

Now thats what I would love......

Oh how beautiful.......

Today after work before school pick up I went to TJS...Trader Joes to get a few things. When you walk in the door of any TJS stores the flowers greet you and it puts a smile on my face every time. I saw a beautiful bunch of white tulips and being the frugal person I am did not pick them up. I think sometimes you just have to get that item that may help you get through the day. I wish I got them now looking at pictures of white tulips on line. In the cold gloomyness of the winter it could of put some pop in the kitchen. I was a bit sad after dinner thinking of how nice it is when we take a ride to the park in the spring and walk while it is still light out. I am soooo looking forward to doing that since at supper 5:15 it was already dark. I swear I have some form of SAD and HATE this weather so much. I really SHOULD live in a warmer climate it would make me so much more happier. Hope you are all doing well. Maybe my next visit I will p/u tulips and do something special just beacuse. Have a good night. I am counting the days till Spring.

Big Brother 9

I don't have to wait till the summer. This year CBS is doing a Big Brother in Feb. on the 12th at 900pm for all of you who care to watch...lol I am sure there are few of you besides Karen and Jane who really watch faithfully like the BB fan I am...lol Rumor has it that these HG's this year have a celebrity connection and it will be a DIRTY LAUNDY type theme. I am so excited for my BB to be back. I swear it should be on ALL YEAR LONG. lol I can;t tell you how much I LOVE that show. keep an eye out...It is almost here......yeah!
I would of never seen the previews if I did not watch the last 15 mins of the Pats game Sunday..I am glad Julie and I went down to see the game to get to see the preview....

GO Pats....

Well Ryan is very excited about Sundays game. He has a new Brady shirt and loves to wear it. Yesterday at school it was Pats spirit day and they were told to wear anything Pats. He was so glad he could wear the hat, shirt and workout pants he has with the Pats logo. This past year or so he has taken a LOVE to this game. He talks about how he is going to play Pop Warner in August with Masco and how he loves playing at recess. I am surprised b/c he was never into aggresive sports but since plaing Lacross he has grown with strenght and confidence.
We are having friends over on Sunday and I am most excited about the making food part, the game I could care less. lol Off to the market to get all the goodies and make a spread worthy of a title game. See I do know that much...lol At the bear barn we sold clean out of the Pats bears, they were cute with a navy nose and blue eyes and the Pats logo on the foot. We have a ton of uniforms and cheer outfits that at one point flew off the racks, when we had few to sell...NOW they sent us a ton and they just sit. Maybe they will start picking up since we will win on Sunday and make it to the BOWL.......The shirts we got that said 16-0 undefated season flew out also....Have a great weekend. Go PATS!

The Snow Blower doctor..or should I say Dr. Stephen...

When living on a hill you NEED a snow blower. Well we got a really good one three winters ago. Just yesterday it was not working as efficant as always. We noticed that only one side was turning so it took twice as long to clear. At one point we gave up and did the hugh steep drive by hand. Yeah real fun! NOT! I NEED to call the Dr. for this thing b/c I hear MORE SNOW Friday. No more by hand crap b/c that is just crazy. The boys an dI really got a work out yeaterday. I keep getting charlie horses since doing it....yeah love this snow......NOT! It was funny after watching the kids sled down the hill in the yard after we were done. I son't know where they got the energy after shovlin for 2 hours....I needed to shower and get ready to go to the bear barn that had NO guests and made no cash at all. It was weird, a ghost town like feel......Even on the road felt like not a soul in sight. I guess people were smart and headed the stay home warning..I wish I could of stayed home the entire time but had to close last night and clean the BB....lol Have a great non snow day today .....
Update>>>>>Michael and Stephen, well really Stephen lol the mechanical one attempted to fix the blower Thursday night. They went to 3 stores and finally at Sears they were sent to the Sears Repair store on RT 114 but were not told that is closed at 500pm at this point it was 630pm...ugh...M went yesterday on his way home from work and "ordered" the part that is being sent in the mail. Stephen read the manual and says he knows how to put in the part. S also changed the oil in it..I tell u this kid did not get that from his dad...lol He really has a talent for figuring things out without ever being told ot taught. I love that he is such a handy kid...lol He is loving school and is really swaying tolds the elecrical dept for his trade.

Lets talk about the weather...PART 2

Last weather post I was happy as a clam in the sand...WELL here we go Rant on......Come on ENOUGH already send it to Drew in LI NY who WANTS it...Stay away from here. Two chanls. say almost 10-12 inches....come on....one said 6-12 ALL DAY LONG. I have to close tom night and may have to deal with driving in it at the peak YUCK///// I HATE THIS........After I drive Stephen to work today...(the nice job he gets big cash at, one of his games he is making $16.50 for the hour...niccceee instead of the reg $11. b/c it is an adult league and that is what they pay...NICCEE) I am making my way to Market Basket near the rink in N Andover stocking up and cooking all afternoon long. It will make me feel great and try to get my mind off of the crap that may soon come. A friend of ours as a joke bought us a 100 lb bag of calium chloride aka ice melt for Christmas. He left it out side our garage door and both Michael and I were like why did you leave it outside the garage, like the other one bought it. So for a few hours we were confused until he called and said did you see your surprise? LOL The past year he has been getting some homecooked meals from my kitchen so I think it was his way of saying thanks. So we have an additional 2 other 50lb bags....We go through ice melt on this hill like a fish needs water. I may p/u one more bag, u can never have enough...lol I resorted to kitty litter one storm b/c I could not find icemelt at any of the 5 stores I went to and that was a BIG BAD RAF NO NO...It was a mess and did not do what real icemelt does...So MR. RAF had a kinipsion...lol no more kitty litter, klumping at that...yeah it was bad....funny after you do it but bad....so to al lof you who WANT the white stuff you are a bunch of stunads.....yeah Italian word for ....Norma help me out I can not put the definiton to words...If you ever hear the expression STUNAD you get it.....The deck this past week was all clear and ever part of the yard/property is clean of the junk and now it will be back.....Screw this crap I want Florida or Hawaii.....NOW!

Lets talk about the weather.......

LOVE IT! Has it been so unseasonably warm or what? Now this makes me happy. Hate the cold and snow. Snow more so than cold. I can deal with the cold but HATE the white stuff. I am noticing the melt down since the past 3 days have been in the 50's and now today they say the 60's///Yeah.....Just a few days ago the boys and I were driving past a closed golf course really slow and I looked and said look how beautiful that looks, and they both burst out laughing like I was being facious. Well I really did mean it b/c it was so nice to see untouched white stuff and the look of how it had fallen...so from afar it is ok but not close up. I am not looking forward to more of this stuff at all. I hope it stays away b/c it makes it so much easier for everyday dealings. I leave you with have a great warm day and enjoy the unseasonable weather.......

No longer "Master Bear Builder"

As you all know my job at BABW was and still is something I really value. I have always loved the work that we do as a company and the daily interaction we have with little ones as well as big one...lol ......Some big ones are harder to deal with than the little ones...lol I do however hate the fact that I am no longer a "Master Bear Builder". I still do that job but also am 'mgmngmnt'......I can do the job and have been since mid November and what a time to have to learn and do .....Holiday crunch time. It is slowing down since kids are back to school. I just wish that I had the job that I had before. Bear Builder de'jure....OF THE DAY.....lol I still do merchandising like before...the early Thursday mornings of BABW gym, lifting, putiing away...unloading pallets and all that good workout stuff. My side kick Pam and I had hours of conversations about every subject under the sun. Now I do it alone.....Yeah realllllyyy fun....On the second Thursday of the month she'll be alone and knows how it feels too. Michael goes to a meeting in Boston on the 2nd Thursday of the mnt and I cna not go to work to meet the truck before 6 and have to drive Stephen and get Ryan and his friend on the bus. Anyone can use the extra cash that is for sure but at this point in life it is not all about money it is the fact to LOVE what you do. As you know from prevs. posts back before BABW, I LOVED my job at the school and just got a bad break when layoffs came being the lowman on the pole for positions not there. I did get burn out from schoolbus driving and loved that I could go to BABW still work with kids and have so mucg fun my entire shift long. It is no longer that fun. I do the job that I have to do and cant have as much fun as before b/c it is like a robotic job of doing what you need to do. Guest interaction is still there, glad for that but it is differnt that I cant stuff and have that longer term fun as much being "floorleader" as we say....I am happy to be employeed, some people dont have jobs and not all bad but wish and long for the Master Bear Builder days back......This here is not a rant or complaining just needed to get out what I feel. I can only hope for those of you who read, you too can go to your job abd be greatful/happy that you work there. The sayin is work like you dont need the money...hell we live in America....WE ALL NEED the money to survive......Have a great day at work.....yup Sunday work.....UGH

~Happy New Year~

~Want to wish you all a safe, healthy and happy 2008........God Bless and your friendships are held close to my heart~

Christ the Savior is Born........

I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and A Blessed New Year.......My love and friendship goes out to all.

I love these mice.....

Long time no post....

Hello and a how are you? It has been really hectic here and really not much time to look or post on the computer. Hope to find you all well. Stephen was really sick last weekend and we were at ER, he is so much better now. Ryan is good and did not catch anything, we are happy about that. Nana T is hanging on, no better no worse. It is the weekend to put up the Christmas decorations. We are doing it in two days b/c the day was so hectic today. Not much more to talk about except the hurried days of the Rafs.......Blessings and Friendship......

Happy Thanksgiving to all.....

I want to wish you and all of yours a Blessed Thanksgiving. Enjoy your time and memories together......

~My Dearest Nana T~

All of you who have read my posts in the past know that Nana T...Theresa, was the "Mom" in my life. She brought me up with all her love and kindness. Slowly, during the past 5 -6 years the decline in her has been heart breaking. I feel I lost the NANA T we knew and loved to an aweful dementia/alsimers disease. She back about 3 weeks ago really started to look bad and was more and more out of it. I left there one Sunday in a full blown sob fest that when I called M I was at a hyperventalating state and had to pull the car over, in the projects b/c I could no longer see from the sobs.....I was glad I was without the boys b/c I know that would totally alarm them. Even in the past I leave there with a heavy heart sad by the fact that she is not totally with us mentally and physically will not do well either. With the holidays coming it pains me to know that she can no longer leave the home to be with us. The last time she came was on her 85th Birthday not 1/07 but 1/06. She has her "gwanda bella" bear from that day. It means how much pretty in Italian. She says pesha sotha...I won't tell ya what that means...lol
She does tell me when I ask her about the bear that sits on her nightstand near her now hospital style bed.Her old one was a regular one now she needs the medical type one. I tought of her all weekend long during our busy running around weekend. I said many times I wish I could go see her ect...We were so swamped this weekend..It is not a short ride but still....I get a call yesterday morn, not the name I want to see on the caller id.....I think in a 10 sec. time it may be about the bill. I amswer and get the worst news I could ever get....NANA T was brought back by the defibulators....Heart goes south...Hyperventalation starts......I can't even get words out.....The nurse tells me when she is stable they will transport her to the hospital ect......OK so she died and she came back? What are you telling me.????
I am not her health care proxy her son is and they could only tell me so much. They need to talk to him...Long long story short...I get intouch with his wife ...blah blah ect ect......So I got a call at 300pm yesterday with a little bit of an update....Her BP went so high heart stopped...Toxins in the blood sent BP that high.....UTI needs to be treated b/c old people can die from that. She has not eaten or drank for a week know. The past 6 mnths she really has not eaten. She is so frail and weak. My heart breaks knowing that I am gonna losse this wonderful mother. I know the day would come and know I will be a basket case. So I talk to my aunt (who is crazy mind you, everyone knows this) she is like this should be easy your mother passed away already you can deal ....AHHHH no ....I can't even put into words the Nana T connection. She knows Paula was not the mother that people dream of...I get it yes she bear me .....but a wonderful caring inconditional loving person RAISED me and that is NANA T! Knowing that she was at deaths door puts me in the sadest state and I can't even tell people the story without wellin gup with tears. It is hard as all hell to even type this. I get it she lives a full healthy for the most part life..We are blessed with that.......I am thankful for the person God put there to help mold me ........I LOVE THIS WOMEN and can't come to accept her passing could be soon. When I am in my own head I hear her voice saying "My Stephie Baby"....or when I was 12 in the department store with Normie "Stephie what is your bra size since you no longer fit into the training ones" ...Yup...thats Nana T......I recall the year I was pregnant with Stephen it was Christmas time and I needed to pick a gift up for Normie and Nana T drove me to the Mall in Saugus. Peabody was too far and the Saugus mall was brand spakin gnew as she said......We got Norma a rice/veggie steamer b/c she was vegistarian for a few years.....She told the cashier how I could not drive b/c of the baby and my best freind did not eat meat and I am her grandaughter and how she is my mother really and how I have a nioce husband. We went to Friendlys after and she told the waiter stuff. Then I was like NANA.....They don;t care....Now I know being a mom just how proud you are to tell anyone who will listen about your pride and joys......I miss her even though she is still on the Earth she is not Nana T like she used to be and I have to come to know she will be in a better place and be with her "Darling Stevie" with the sky blue eyes......Love you Nana and Papa........Love Your "STEPHIE BABY"

So cool how this looks.....

I dont know how put really cool how it happened.....Enjoy

The Big 4-OH ...................40!

This Thursday Michael will turn the BIG 4-0h.......
Forty years ago he came into this world on Thanksgiving as a mini turkey weighing over 10 lbs...(all the Raftery boys were 10 and over, poor little MIL .....She is about 5'1" and never weighed more than 110 back in the day, she had whoppers)

Tonight I am taking the family to Burtuccis (Michaels favorite) for a birthday dinner. He needed a new watch so we are all contributing to it. Cool watch it works on your body movment and never needs a battery. Fosil has long been the "cool watch" company.

He is out raking leaves while I bake the cake. We could not keep it from him. He is so not one for surprises. Neither am I , I HATE being surprised. Thanks goodness for Normie she let me in on the little secret of my baby shower....SHHHH nobody knows that to this day...LOL I did a good surprised looked. hehehehhe Well I did over hear Nonie (Michaels grandmother) slip when I was around the corner in another room, but they all taght I didi not hear...At that point I had already known from Normie being the awesome friend who knows me too well. So back to tonight....MIL wanted a big cousin/aunt/uncle/friend fest but I told her over and over HE DOES NOT WANT IT! He made it clear to me he is not his older brother who LOVES the attention....He is quiet laidback Michael who is on slow motion that does not like big deals made of him. SO I am going to honor his wishes......The cake is baking and the buttercream setting, gifts are all wraped. I sent him to the store to get eggs and butter this morn so we scrambeld while he was out. Ry made him a card from the computer and put some really sweet words on it....It came from the heart.....Stephen having a job and money now had me take him to Bobs Store yesterday with his own money to buy him something from RY an dhim...I told him Daddy expects nothing of that nature....A card will do but he insisted....Funny he picked out a new belt b/c he heard us talking one morning saying he needed one and a really funky tie.......with geometric shapes....SO NOT MICHAEL ....but I am sure he will wear it with pride.....
To mu best friend, heaven sent forever love.....Happy 40th Birthday....You get more handsome with age and grow wiser by the years.......xoxoxoxo Love Your Jelly Bean, Stephanie