New Family Pics

Here are a few family pictures...

This one is taken at my cousin Mike's wedding. It was good having all the family on my side come to Huntsville for a change!

Here's Elena at the YMCA pool... she loves to swim!

Elena in her watermelon dress from Grandma Peggy... who she calls "Peggy," not Grandma, by the way...

Elena in her Cinderella dress - a birthday gift from Daddy.

I need to take a few more pictures of Nick, I know.

Back to the Grind

Well, today marked my return to work. I will admit I cried all the way in, after dropping off Nick at daycare. It was so hard to leave him -- my little boy is going to grow up so fast!

Elena spent a few extra hours with my Mom, and I'll pick both kids up later today.

My first day back went pretty well... things haven't changed too much, and I only had 9,341 emails waiting in my inbox! I'd say 8,900 of them were spam. We get a lot of spam here at WHNT. Wish someone could figure out how to block it. The subject lines are pretty risque'.

If you've sent me an email in the past few months and are waiting on a response, please write again. Chances are it got lost in the oblivion.

Record Profits, Again

I bet this story ticked many of you off, just as it did me. In today's edition of the Huntsville Times, "Exxon Mobil earns the biggest profit ever."


While we all suffer!!!!


Before you tell me to "go green" - I am working on it. I have used less gas this summer, and I'm trying to be smart about where I drive, keep my errands close together, etc. It has helped that I've been home with the kids, too, this summer, but I am all about not having to fill up the tank as much as I can.


And, prices have dropped a few cents. Bless their black hearts.

Screw 'em. These rich oil companies will get what's coming to them. Prayer at the pump won't help... the executives should start praying for their souls.

Movie Review: Mamma Mia!

My friend Allison and I went to see "Mamma Mia!" today. My first outing leaving both kids at home with my husband (and I turned off the cell phone)!

I looked online after the film, and sadly, I had a hard time finding a good review -- but that's what I'm about to write.

My first experience with Mamma Mia! was with Huntsville's Broadway Theatre League a few years ago. The play was fantastic -- the characters so alive, with the pairing of the ABBA music -and a great love story with a twist I didn't expect - so I had high hopes for the film.

I freaked when I saw the trailer for it before "Sex in the City" - OMG! A movie version! That, and "The Dark Knight," both in the same summer?

So, I'm not a film critic -- I don't go to the movies with a pen and paper to jot down notes throughout the experience. I go for, well, an "experience." I judge a film overall, and don't let one or two bad apples in it spoil the whole thing.

Meryl Streep was wonderful - I wasn't sure what I'd think of her, but she played a tough, but fun, broad ("Donna") who's had a hard life raising her daughter Sophie and keeping a hotel running on a Greek island. She sang well, too. I did wish someone would give her a bobbypin or two, to keep some of her hair back, but she carried the film well. Her two BFF's, played by Julie Walters and Christine Baranski, are awesome too. The three of them are really fun to watch together. I hope when I have reunions with my girlfriends 10 or 20 years from now, we're that crazy!

An aside - ask Dan Satterfield what he thinks of Meryl Streep if you ever run into him. His answer might throw you for a loop.

Back to the movie. Pierce Brosnan plays "Sam," the leading man who hasn't been in Donna's life for 20 years, and is suddenly back after Donna's daughter, Sophie, invites him and two other men to attend her wedding. One of the three men is Sophie's father, and Donna doesn't know they're coming.

The others two actors (Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgard) sing very little, and frankly, I wish Pierce would have sang a little less, too. Ladies, we know why he got the role. He looks GOOD.

(But isn't there another handsome leading man out there who tried out for this role, who could sing a little better? He was a little painful to listen to.)

Amanda Seyfried plays young Sophie, the betrothed, and is no doubt the strongest singer in the film. I really enjoyed her performance. She was fun, bright, enthusiastic, all the things a bride should be in the 24 hours leading up to her wedding.

I won't go into what happens in the film, or name all of the players, because you can read that elsewhere, and it's late and I'm tired. Those of you who have seen the play know what happens and if you liked the play, you'll like the movie. (Well, I did, but some out there in web land don't necessarily agree with me.)

Judging on the whole experience, I give it 4 out of 5 stars. Any fun movie musical with a good love story tied in has my support.

Two Wedding Showers, a Baptism and Birthday Party

Whew. What a busy weekend. It is Wednesday morning now, so I know the weekend is way over, but we're just catching our breath.

Had a busy few events this past weekend -- I helped host two wedding showers on Saturday - one during the afternoon for my cousin, Mike Suckow, and his fiancee, Jennifer Rice. They'll be married on August 3. Then, on Saturday evening, I helped host another shower, this one for my good friend, Allison Palmer and her fiancee Jason Blackburn. They'll get married on August 9.

Those went well - thank God they weren't at my house. That would have been too much!

The next day, Nick was baptized, on his 2-month birthday, at Good Shepherd Catholic Church. To be honest, we never got our camera out of our purse, with all the craziness, but plenty of our friends and family took pictures. My good friend Deanna Lawley is Nick's godmother and is going to send me a CD with pics.. I'll add a few when it arrives. Thanks, Dee!

Sunday afternoon, Elena's 3rd birthday party. We did a "Wizard of Oz" themed event and Elena wore her Dorothy costume from last Halloween. We played some cute games, "find the ruby slippers in the yard," "pin the heart on the tin man" and "break the somewhere-over-the-rainbow pinata."

I warn you, if you even think about doing a pinata at a party for your child, have a few extra adults on hand to keep the kids back! We had a few wander dangerously close to the child with the bat. Phew! That would have been disastrous! But no one got hurt, thank goodness.

We had a wonderful time, but honestly, much of it is a blur to me. It was really hectic trying to keep up with all the kids!

Dee helped serve as the photographer for that event, too. Will post some pics soon.

Hope you're doing well! I return to work on August 4th. Can't say I've missed it.. it will be good to have some adult conversation, though. I think my brain has turned to mush.

:) Claire

Welcome Baby Nick!

Well, I've been trying to find time to blog for the last few weeks. It's hard to type with a baby in one hand, though. Usually that just allows me to check emails, if anything, and respond back with one or two-word answers.

Nicholas Joseph Aiello arrived on May 20, 2008 at 7:04am. My instincts were wrong on him, I "guessed" he would be a girl, but God had other plans! That's fine.. my husband had the happiest look on his face when our doctor said "it's a boy" and I immediately burst into tears (happy tears).


Joey rushed over with the video camera as the nurses cleaned him and weighed him, and I asked the nurse "is he a good size?" because I hadn't seen him yet, behind the C-section curtain. She said yes.. and soon afterward, I heard the neonatologist say "8 pounds 5 ounces" - HOLY CRAP! I had no idea he'd be so big. I was so thankful! Twenty-one and a half inches long, too.

A few moments later, the neonatologist brought Nick over, and I gave him a kiss before he took him to the nursery with Joey.

In recovery, the nurse told me Nick went right to the "well-baby" nursery - more happy tears. That means I'd get to see him soon!

Then, my husband did what I really didn't think I had to ask him NOT to do - he took a cell phone picture of the baby, "family jewels" included, and emailed it to our friends and family. Geez, babe. (I won't post that one here -- I'll spare my child the misery, and I'll spare you.)

What can I say, Joey is a proud father.

I had to put some makeup on, because when I called the newsroom to let them know the good news, my co-worker Amber Stuart said "oh, we have to come and get video of you and Nick - TODAY." Let me tell you something, Amber. Wait until you're on morphine, 3 hours out of surgery.. you won't feel up to having a news crew come into your hospital room. Oh well. At least I didn't have to get out of bed.

Here's Joey with his new son. He wore an Alabama shirt that day, and told all the nurses "if it's a boy, what do you think about Nicholas Saban Aiello?"

It was just a joke. We aren't freaks.

Nick has blue eyes and blondish/brown hair.. funny, he really looks like his big sister did at that age (with one major difference).

I can't say enough about the doctors, nurses and the rest of the caring staff at Huntsville Hospital for Women and Children. I had such a wonderful experience there, just as I did when I delivered Elena, and I thank all of them so much. When I get a chance to breathe maybe I'll bake some cookies and take them over!

Nick is a great baby - he's 4 weeks old now, and eats well, and sleeps pretty well, for the most part. Most nights, he's up 2-3 times, but last night, he woke up just once - so that was fantastic. I think I'm sleepier the mornings after a good night's sleep than the other nights when I'm up more.

Elena is taking well to him, too - she loves her little brother and is so protective of him!

I hope you are all doing well. I certainly don't miss work... maternity leave will be over before I know it, so I'm cherishing this time with my children. I am reminded how hard stay-at-home moms have it, though. I couldn't do this all the time. It is TOUGH! My mom had Elena in Florida for 2 weeks while I recovered, and my sister came up to help, also. Now, I'm on my own with the kids during the day, and I really do have to take it one day at a time.

My daughter has her temper tantrums from time to time, and we've really had to enforce time outs lately.

More updates as soon as I find time... I also hope to post a few movie reviews soon, on Sex and the City, and Indiana Jones: The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Also, the Top 5 DVDs to watch while on maternity leave!

Later!

Baby #2 Arrives Next Week!

Hello blog world!

Well, the big day is almost here. And frankly, I'm ready to not be "big" anymore as you'll see in the pictures my co-worker Brittian took of me this morning. Another co-worker of mine, Shane, asked me the other day if I was ready to "drop it like it's hot." I slapped him.

I'm scheduled for my C-Section the morning of Tuesday, May 20th.

My husband Joey and I are ready to meet our new son or daughter! Please keep me in your prayers that everything goes well. I have faith that it will.

On that subject, I tried to get my doctor to "guess" the baby's gender yesterday, just for fun (no ultrasound or anything, just a guess) -- and he wouldn't go for it. He jokingly replied "How about I guess on Tuesday?"

I even said "I'm not going to go home and paint the room pink or blue depending on what you say..." but he wouldn't budge. Maybe people have sued over that in the past???

I'll be on maternity leave for a while. I am definitely ready for a break from work -- but I know this won't be a vacation by any means. There will be plenty to keep me busy at home! My colleague, Tonarius Gooden, will fill in on web duties during my absence. Take it easy on him! There's a lot that goes into maintaining WHNT.com on a daily basis.

Our daughter Elena is really excited about the new baby. My Mom is also here to help for a few weeks, then my sister will come up for another week.

I have to say comparing this delivery to my first, I'm much more excited about it. Yes, it won't be fun to recover, or lose sleep for a while, but I am so blessed to be able to have children. I have a few friends who are struggling right now with getting pregnant.

And frankly, I'm not worried because I've been through it already. I was so scared before I had Elena -- scared about the C-section (I was crying as the nurses wheeled me in to the operating room), scared I'd feel the 'cut'...

And moreso, scared that I wouldn't know what to do with a baby -- I wouldn't know how to react when she cried, or got sick, basically, how to take care of her.

I honestly learned -- and this is the advice I give to all new parents, (if they ask) -- that all you need is love. Yeah, it's a Beatles song - but it's the truth. If you just take time to love the precious gift you're given, the rest comes with instinct. All my worries cleared up the moment I held Elena for the first time. Yes, there were certainly some challenges - nursing, crying (me and her), but it all worked out!

I have to say I said more special prayers to Mary that week than any other of my life, for support with nursing. As a mother, I knew she'd understand my frustrations and worries. Mary definitely came through!

Anyway, I don't want to gross any of you out. No more talk about that subject, at least on this blog.

My only worry this time is how to afford the cost of two kids in daycare. GEEZ!!!