If You Just Smile

Smile

Mars in the stars

Mars is a risin’

The world is insane

The papers‘s gone mad

But our love is a peace vibe

Yes!

-Laura Nyro

Samuel Alito can shake his head all he wants! With the midterms just just days away it is clear that the Supreme Court’s worst decision since Bush v. Gore (Citizens United v. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Feb 2010) has delivered our nation the best plutocracy money can buy! In Bush v. Gore the Supreme Court majority denied a states right to count the votes and coronated the republican for President. (Federalism be damned).  In Citizens United the court has likely returned Republicans to control of Congress.  ( Judicial activism be damned).  So much for impartiality and separation of powers in the nations highest court.  The 5-4 Citizens United decision gave corporations, foreign contributors, Big Energy, Big Oil  and billionaire conservatives the green light to anonymously funnel unlimited amounts of cash to elect or unelect any candidate they want. Corporations and their allies are now bankrolling thousands of attack adds on Democrats so that they’ll be replaced by Republicans who will do their bidding.

Worse still, prohibition on foreign nationals indirectly contributing to US elections has apparently gone the way of the hoola hoop! We can blame this directly on the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision which has freed corporations and the deep pockets of oil polluting billionaires like the Koch Brothers to buy any election of their choosing in the name of free speech.  Smells like free corruption to dad!  The Citizens United decision has emboldened organization such as the US Chamber of Commerce, no longer forced to disclose the sources of their massive campaign spending, to directly influence policies and buy seats in the House  and Senate.  Even the Veterns Alliance for Security and Democracy (VetPAC) filed an FEC complaint against the Chamber of Commerce alleging that the organizations potential use of foriegn funds for political purposes represents a “clear and present danger” to our democracy by shielding the electorate from the indentities of foreign influences that are lurking behind the US Chamber of Commerce’s massive campaign spending. Citizens United has provided a 7-1 GOP advantage for the midterms in very the first election cycle in its pungent and putrid wake.

When last in power, the GOP racked up deficits that far exceed “the combined cost of the bailout, the stimulus and the health-care law” under Obama. In virtual unison GOP candidates now bemoan “runaway federal spending” American voters in our country are about to hand  the keys to the bus to corporate shill John Boehner who is predicticted to become Speaker of the House! No one in American government better displays on a daily basis how how our sleeze-ball government is hostage to corporations and their lobbyists! It is not sleeze-ball government it is sleeze ball politicians beholden to the donors that bought them! Boehner is the most bought of the lot!

Do you recall the failed Times Square terrorist bomber around the time I was born ? Well, he has been tried and convicted to life in a maximum security prison by the American Legal system in an American Courtroom  in just five months! Meanwhile, in the black legal hole Obama inherited from Bush/Cheney, that is Guantanomo Bay, Cuba not a single prisoner has been tried by a single military tribunal in nine years! Got “fair and speedy trials”?

After ten weeks deep inside a collapsed mine, 33 Chilean miners were lifted to safety last week in Operation San Lorenzo (named for the patron saint of miners). Thanks to an “extaordinary international effort” these miners are the longest-surviving victims of a cave-in. The rescue brought engineers from  a dozen countries (U.S. included) and 20 mining companies with their latest technologies to Camp Hope. Their efforts were “matched by the inspiring example” of the miners who survived their first desperate weeks by carefully dividing and sharing a two day food supply.

Defying all odds, Keith Richards has completed his autobiography. Amazingly, he was quoted in the N.Y. Times as claiming he hasn’t forgotten any of it!  Clearly Keith has memories to burn!

We lost the quintessential television mother, Barbara Billingsly, (Leave It To Beaver) and television father, Tom Bosley, (Happy Days) on consecutive days and the music world bid farewell to R & B legend Solomon Burke

Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been. ~Mark Twain, Following the Equator

Hello!  My name is Gabriela Bernadette  and I am 6 1/2 months old!

I am really beginning to find my voice and I have a lot to say! One day recently I just started vocalizing out loud and my parents just looked at one another so I didn’t stop. In fact, I never looked back. My first words were “Ma Ma Ma”! Mom intoduced solid foods this week and dad captured it all on film! I love the stuff! I’d eat my hand off if I could! Tonight I tried to eat a jack-o-lantern! Hey, Its Halloween!

Dad says the only good thing ever said about him growing up concerned food consumption and he hopes I aspire to much, much more!

Here I am at 5 months old and pretty darn proud of mastering “Tummy Time”!

I love spending time on my “activity mat” where I attempt and hone new skills.  For instance, I’m tickled pink learning to roll over.  Here is an initial attempt where I only managed to roll onto my side.  I am happy to report that by month six I have mastered the roll over effortlessly; it’s the rolling back I still struggle with.

Mom thinks Dad gets the short end of the stick sometimes when it comes to photos of him, so here he is with my sister as they make a run to “whole paycheck” to pick up some groceries.

I love spending time with my sister!  I always know where she is and will crane my head to find her!  I hear my sister say to my mom, “Put Gabriela on my wap”.  It is safer for us to hang out on my sister’s bed.  I think she thinks I am on of her baby dolls.

I am slowly learning the physics of sitting up.  I  definitely still weeble wabble, and often I fall over, but I don’t let it upset me much. I’ll get there way too soon. My dad calls me his  “little bobble head”.

My dad was amazed to find me feeding myself during one of his many nights as Mr. Mom! I have been consistently capable of feeding myself for two months now!

Mom and I were hanging in the kitchen as we waited for our friends Teresa and Sabrine to arrive.  We were so excited for them to come visit us all the way in NYC from Collinsville!

Sabrine is like a big sister to me and my sister.  It was so much fun having her in our house!

On a rare trip to Collinsville, Tom came over to hang with me.  It had been far too long!  He remembers holding my sister when she was this small.

A trip to Collinsville would not be complete without a visit with the Moeller Morgans!  My sister calls Greyson and Marlowe her “best friends”.  I think they will be my best friends too!  I loved hanging out with them.

Miss Cindy had lots of kisses and hugs for me.

Eric lives next door to us in Collinsville.  He is our awesome tenent and solely responsible for our country home’s new paint job!  On the eve of his daughter, Haven’s, 12th birthday, he is probably recalling when Haven was a little peanut like me.

Yeah, Lara!  Lara is Marianne’s sister, they both take care of me and my sister and we love them very much! Lara is out on a childrens theatre tour and we miss her very much!

Power To The People!…I love sitting up on the couch all by myself …

and it’s certainly more fun with my big sister Liliana Louise!

The fall season would not be complete without a trip to Grammy and Grampy’s at the 4J Ranch!

I love my Grammy, she makes me very happy!

Mommy likes her new schedule at BILLY ELLIOT, it means that she gets an extra night to hang out with me before I go to bed at night.

I continue to work on the art of sitting up !

Go Yankees!  I wore my Yankees classic onesie from mom’s friend, Bonnie, for Daddy’s birthday party! Even though they took a thumpin’ from the Rangers! In the series, Mommy is pulling for the underdog Rangers, and Daddy is rooting for the Giants.

Veronica takes such good care of me and my sister

Happy 1/2 of One Year to Me!

On a beautiful Monday morning, my mom took us to Central Park where Mommy’s friend, Lisa, took photos of me and my sister.

Much of my day is spent smiling, I guess you could say I’m just a happy camper! Smiling is my favorite thing to do

That’s the time you must keep on trying.

Smile, what’s the use of crying?
You’ll find life is worthwhile
If you’ll just smile, come on and smile.

If you just smile.

 

 

 

 

“Teach Your Parents”

Hello!  My name is Gabriela Bernadette and I am 20weeks old! I’d like to dedicate this Spoeser Chronicles entry to my Cousin Fallon, and my Auntie Jody celebrating birthdays in the month of my first August!

The million dollar question for this entry is , will Judge Vaughn Walker’s ruling establish gay marriage as a fundamental right? Odd couple legal team and Bush v. Gore adversaries Ted Olsen and David Boies arguing the case agaisnt Proposition 8 say “The Bill of Rights is not up for a vote”.  Judge Vaughn Walker said as he tossed Prop 8 in the hopper, “Fundamental Rights may not be submitted to a vote!”  This Reagan appointed federal judge has placed this issue firmly on Constitutional grounds which constitutes a high point in America’s history long struggle to live up to its democratic ideals.

Unfortunately, almost simultaneously, a low point in America’s history long struggle for democratic ideals is playing out in this election year.  Talk about fightin’ words…the debate over the “mosque at ground zero” has deteriorated unabated.  Just last week in Manhattan a muslim cab driver had his throat slashed by an intoxicated white person and a mosque in Queens  was vandalized during a service when prayer rugs were urinated upon by an intoxicated white person screaming racial slurs!

Ah, “the mosque at ground zero”…just for starters Park 51 is not a “mosque” and it is not at Ground Zero!  The Islamic Center will not be “built” on sacred ground but in an abandoned Burlington Coat Factory store two blocks away.  It will have a “prayer room” which in the dim minds of some, transforms the community center into a mosque.  “The building will be devoted to tolerance and contain classrooms, an auditorium, galleries, a restaurant, a memorial to the victims of 9/11, a swimming pool and a gym open to all people, even those of C and H persuasions.” This is all pretty scary stuff considering there was zero uproar about the prayer room for Muslim soldiers inside the rebuilt Pentagon!

A “national orgy of bigotry” has been unleashed concerning Islam in America.  Election year demagogues fail to comprehend that Islam did not attack America on 9/11.  We were attacked by 19 fanatics that pledged allegiance to alQeida and Osama bin Laden.  To equate the 19 killers with Islam is to give them the power to define the religion of a billion human beings.  It is ignorant, foolish and wrong! Are we not sacrificing national treasure and the blood of our troops, nation building an Islamic country in Afganistan? Hello! Never the less, the question for this election season will be, do mosques fit on Main Street?  Just how many blocks away from Ground Zero would a mosque be appropriate?  The question should be, If 19 killers and Osama bin Laden force America to abandon its core principals, don’t the terrorists win?  When President Obama weighed in on the side of religious freedom (wasn’t that what our country was founded upon?) he enraged wing nut birthers who claimed this as smoking gun proof that our President is muslim!  In fact, 20% of America or 1/5 of our nation are so vacuous they believe our Christian President, is a muslim.

Pat Boone in an interview referred to the While House as “the mosque on Pennsylvania Ave”.  Sadly, Pat Boone still roams the Earth and John Lennon is gone.

Republican Congressional candidates sought to interject the controversy into the midterm elections despite the fact that all but twelve republicans in the House voted agaist health benefits for 9/11 responders just last month.  Welcome to silly season in America, Folks!

Then there was the story of Steven Slater, the AWOL Jet Blue flight attendent that dominated the news cycle with his dramatic rendition of “Take This Job and Shove It”.  Slater quit his job in dramatic fashion when he used the cabin intercom to hurl invectives at a rude passenger, grabbed 2 beers from the beverage cart, activated the plane’s inflatable emergency chute, slid down and walked away.  His cathartic meltdown resounded with Americans and instantly catapulted him into folk ledgend status.  His facebook page was inudated with 200,00 new friends.  A hero for our times or another lionized quitter who cracked under pressure instead of handling it with courage, grace, and stoicism?  Perhaps Steven Slater can oppose Levi Johnson on the reality TV program to become Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska.

Oh and by the way, the words “Honor” and “Glenn Beck” are antonymous. If Glenn Beck has one tiny sliver of “honor” to “restore” than my daddy is Jesus Christ! He is to MLK, what paint by numbers is to art. It is dishonorable to mention MLK in the same sentence as this creepy dishonest, divisive and puny entertainer! Therefore we have not.

Meanwhile, President Obama delivered on his vow to pull combat forces out of Iraq sans a Mission Accomplished banner.  Christopher Hitchens was diagnosed with cancer, activist, jazz singer Abbey Lincoln, actress Patricia Neal and Bobby Thompson who hit the shot heard around the world, sadly passed away.

Gil Scott Heron was quoted in The New Yorker recently saying that “the way you get to know yourself is by they expressions on other people’s faces, because that is the only thing you can see”.  That said, photos of my June 26th Baptism at St. Malachy’s Actors Chapel in Times Square have finally arrived from my Auntie Wendy.  Judging from the expressions on my family member’s faces I am one happy little girl!

I seem to be the center of attention here!

Hamming it up during my Baptism

The representatives of nearly the whole damn family!

Father John, mom and dad, me and my awesome godparents, Uncle Russ (Happy Anniversary!) and Aunt Christy (aka Aunt KiKi)

My Neens is so proud of newly baptised me!

Grammy and Grampy took the train in to be a part of my special day!

My sister loves being near me, even if it means laying on her old activity mat which is now mine.

We’re  Sisters!

My toothless grin brightens my mommy and daddy’s every day!

Liliana Louise and I have amazing young women for baby sitters.  Marianne and Lara are wonderful sisters transplanted to Manhattan recently from Michigan, and they rock!

Here I am with Marianne, she is very enthusiastic and a whole lot of fun!

Kristina started caring for my sister when she was only 3 months old!  Kristina was happy to come spend some time with us on a Saturday when both mommy and daddy were working.

Gina (not pictured) also cared for my sister when she was a baby.  Now Gina’s daughters, Natalie and Veronica, care for me and my sister.

My favorite care giver, of course, is my mommy!

Mayor Bloomberg shuts down Park Ave to motor vehicles on Saturdays for the whole month of August. Daddy and Liliana take advantage of his “Summer Streets” program by biking around Central Park and up and down Park Ave on Daddy’s bike. On the final Saturday of Summer Streets, Mommy and I took the train to GrandCentral Station and met my sister and my daddy outside for a swim in the dumpster pools!

The first time my tootsies touched water outdoors was on Park Ave in Manhattan, at the Summer Streets dumpster pools! Like my sister before me, I am indeed a native New Yorker!

Our family just downtown from Grand Central Station (windows visible in background) at the Park Ave dumpster pools!

It gives my parents such joy to watch how I change day to day, my latest discovery is my tootsie toes!

Mom has initiated a whole new sleep training regiment and restructured my feeding schedule! I am sharing the nursery with Liliana and doing remarkably well sleeping through most nights!

My first summer is waning and I am about to roll over all by myself any second. Farewell until I post again. Make the most of these waning summer daze! And remember, “Children Are Not Born Racist!”

“Teach Your Parents”!

Days run long, months pass quickly.

Sisters, Sisters “Sisters, sisters There were never such devoted sisters, Never had to have a chaperone, no sir, I’m there to keep my eye on her Caring, sharing Every little thing that we are wearing.” -Irving Berlin

Everything here on 103rd Street, Mannhattan has been a whirlwind! Mom is back to working long days and rehearsals with the Tony award winning, Billy Elliot, The Musical. Dad is working double duty just like his daddy did, dressing sets for “Royal Pains” and subbing as Production Carpenter at the Wintergarden hosting Mamma Mia on the Great White Way at night. We have some incredible babysitters and we visit mommy and daddy on Broadway stages on two show days.

The world is spinning very fast.We can clone human beings. Can’t one of these genious’s arrest time? Since we last chattered ,a federal judge has struck down key provisions of Arizona’s xenophobic immigration law. Judge Susan Bolton blocked its enforcement due to the inevitable probability that police would detain legal immigrants therefore depriving legal immigrants of their basic rights. Another federal judge in California ruled that their state ballot measure banning same sex marriage violated the Constitution. Judge Vaugn Walker struck down the same sex ban on the grounds that it could not withstand any level of scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause and therefore violated the 14th Amendment.

Ironically it was just that amendment that came under the scrutiny of those amongst us that are for strict interpretation of the constitution until the document needs to be changed! Several legislators have begun calling for the repeal of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, that Reconstruction landmark guaranteeing citizenship to anyone born in America. These 14th Amemendment revisionists have actually stuped to slurring immigrants as baby machines who come to this country to “drop babies for nefarious purposes”.

Sadly the discourse and level of disinformation and demagogory concerning immigration and the deficit have yet to abate. Fearmongers and obstructionists blocked legislation to assist small businesses and all action on jobs, and climate change. Fighting deficits they now claim must take priority over everything else – everything else, that is. except tax cuts for the one percent in our nation’s plutocracy. Those tax cuts must be extended no matter how much red  they create!

Completely unchastened they are determined to dig the hole deeper by calling for Bush’s irresponsible tax cuts for the wealthest one percent to be extended beyond their scheduled expiratation date. “The pernicious Bush economic ortodoxy -tax cuts as a magic elixir to both create jobs and reduce deficits ( it did neither) remains steadfast gospel despite two reaganonomic wizards (Alan Greenspan and David Stockman) who have called them irresponsible.

Finally, there was the sliming of Shirley Sherrod, whose father was murdered by white people. In a wilfully malicious effort by right wing nut job Andrew Breitbart, to distribute heavily edited footage of a speech Sherrod made to the NAACP as pay back for the NAACP calling out the teabaggers for blatant racism.  Completely edited out of context she appeared to boast about withholding aid to a white farmer. In reality, it was just the opposite point of her speech and part of the larger campaign by the radical right to stoke white racial resentment against our President.

Remember the Dixie Chicks? Limbaugh, Beck, Fox news and teabaggers all continue to promote posionous fictional propaganda that have flared racial animus in our country to raw new levels of ugliness.

Meanwhile, President Obama signed into law the largest overhaul of the financial regulatory system since the Great Depression. Chelsea Clinton was married in an extravagant ceremony in Rhineback, N.Y. ARod finally hit his 600th homerun and on a very sad note, Bristol Palin and Levi Johnson called off their engagement! Again?

I love when my big sister reads to me!

“A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost.”  ~Marion C. Garretty

My big sister pays me much notice and for this I am genuinely grateful!

“In the cookies of life, sisters are the chocolate chips.”  ~Author Unknown

Hanging with my daddy copping some couch time with a brand new New Yorker!

This is my family in Collinsville after an improtu dinner with Mike, Teresa and Sabrine.  My first Summer twenty ten.

Daddy and I visiting Uncle Al and Aunt Patty at Candlewood Lake

Daddy took us for a back porch visit and I put a smile on Tom’s face while hanging in C-ville

Visiting Tim  and Michael for dinner in Times SQ between shows! My Daddy works with Tim at Mamma Mia! Michael left the beach early just to meet me!

Kisses from Liliana and me wearing one of daddy’s favorite onsies! “Oh brother Joe Strummer”! Thank -you Sunny and A.J!

“Is solace anywhere more comforting than in the arms of a sister.”  ~Alice Walker

All smiles, sitting up on the couch all by myself. with a vintage copy of My Bookhouse Volumne I  In the Nursery circa 1937

Dad took a break from reading high brow childrens lit to me for this closeup

As you can see I’m digging it and  I clearly am in my happy place

Liliana trying to console me when I’m struggling

Sweet is the voice of a sister in the season of sorrow.  ~Benjamin Disraeli

Watching the Tour de France with my dear old Dad

All smiles in my Strawberry Fields Imagine mosaic oensie

We’re Sisters!

“Sisters are different flowers from the same garden.”  ~Author Unknown

Hello, my name is Gabriela Bernadette and I am 4 months old!

I passed my 4th month check up with my pediatrician, Dr. Jessica Grant, with flying colors!  I was all smiles and giggles as they measured me, I am in the 98th percentile in height and 70% in weight.  Dr. Grant and my mom mostly talked abou thow it’s time to start sleep training – I should be sleeping through the night by nows, oops!  My daddy doesn’t like to hear me cry, but my mom is at the end of her rope with sleepless nights.  We’ll see how this all plays out.   It wasn’t until Dr. Grant surprised me with a couple of shots in my chubby thigh that I let my cries be heard.  Ouch!

“All kinds of weather, we stick together

The same in the rain and sun

Two different faces, but in tight places
We think and we act as one
Those who’ve seen us
Know that not a thing could come between us”

-Irving Berlin

Gabriela, A Girl on the Go!

My name is Gabriela Bernadette and I am 3 months old.  Wow, time never sleeps!

On July 16th, BP. announced it had “capped its gushing well! The BP oil spill has overtaken the lead news story for consecutive days surpassing Tiger Woods, 911, and Tanya Harding. Its endless spew has left our nation suffering from a new ailment named “oil well fatigue”. Symptoms are said to include “feelings of helplessness and chronic irritation” at mere mention of any combination of the words “BP” “Deepwater Horizon”, or such innocuous terms as “cap”, “cointainment”, or “spill”.The 87 day saga has been “marked most memorably by dashed hopes (remember the “top hat” and the “junk shot”?), false claims by BP, and generally diminished expectations.”

Business does not like our President. While it sits upon record amounts of cash and liquid assets, buisness refuses to hire workers. Instead they’d rather increase compensation for its top execs. Now they want us to believe that what is good for corporate cash flow is good for America.

Elena Kagan is likely to be confirmed to sit on the Supreme Court but Thurgood Marshall can just forget it! The GOP has said it loud and clear: The Democratic Party is the party of Thurgood Marshall, Barack Obama, and unmarried female jewish intellectual lawyers!

Russian Sleeper Agents burrowed into the sleepy suburbs of New York, Boston, and D.C. were arrested.”They couldnt be spies said a neighbor of the Murphy family in Montclair, N.J., “Look what she did with hydrangeas”!

Meanwhile Bobby Fisher was exhumed in Iceland and Mel Gibson has been exposed in another series of bigoted rants.

Robert Byrd, the longest serving Senator in American history died and Lebron James signed with the Miami Heat as the entire nation waited forever with bated breath for his decision! Bob Sheppard “the voice of the Yankees” for over five decades and controversial baseball team owner and “the boss”of the NY Yankees,George Steinnbrener died suddenlyin the same week. Spain prevailed in the World Cup Socceer Final

Troubled actress Lindsey Lohan has finally found herself with a jail sentence.  It seems that her late night activity and disregard for the law have finally caught up with her.

But the big news is that Loopy Sister Sarah learned about her daughters engagement to the estrangesd Levi Johnson by reading something!

…The jury is still out on what color eyes I am going to have.  Some days they are blue and some days slate grey.

Daddy rode his bike 60 hilly miles to Mitchell’s Horse Farm to see his buddy Jim play outdoors with the Shineolas.  Mom packed up the car with me and my sister, a packed cooler, blankets and chairs and hit the road to meet Dad there.

Mitchell Farm, “Provides a safe and comfortable retirement alternative for geriatric and infirm horses to live out their lives. The horse farm offers educational opportunities to the public on aged equine care and management.”

Daddy danced with Liliana …

…while I snoozed in my car seat.

When I got too fussy, Mom took me for a walk and a little dance which calmed me right down.

Here I am again, asleep in my car seat while Daddy and Liliana enjoy the music.

Between sets all the horses were paraded out of the barns and individually introduced!  We enjoyed feeding the horses. Liliana and dady particularly liked feeding and petting Cheyenne, and Matisse!

Happy Father’s Day, Daddy!  I really am happy that you are my Daddy, I am just having a tough morming.

“Maybe I am just crying in the wilderness, but as long as I have breath in me I am going to cry”

-Thurgood Marshall

After letting Dad sleep in, we showered him with cards and presents.  Dad spent some time in the garden and then on the road to NYC!

This is what my sister does when I start crying in the car.  Just wait until I gain my fine motor skills, I will be able to drown out her terrible two tantrums! 🙂

Chillin’ on the couch with Dad flying the ND colors in NYC on Father’s Day

I am right on schedule as I start to grab whatever is within my reach, Daddy’s finger, Mommy’s hair, or my favorite blankie.

My legs are getting stronger every day, as I demonstrate some impressive squats!

Look out New York, here comes Texas!

Neens, Aunt Kiki, Aunt Deanie, two of my cousins,Greanly and Carson, all came to New York City for my Basptism.I am all smiles the first time I meet my Godmother, Aunt Kiki!

I am so happy to meet my cousin Greanly and my Aunt Deanie!  I have seen them on the computer, but it’s so nice to see them in person!

Aunt Deanie and I have a lot of catching up to do.

My mommy was so happy to have her family all together!

Neens, Liliana, Greanly holding me, Aunt Deanie and Aunt KiKi

I have missed my Neens.  We spent some good quality time together when I was only a week old!  She couldn’t believe how much I’ve grown since then.

My cousin Carson is 4 years old.  This is when he first met me, in a weeks time he was singing me songs about how much he loved me!

My mom and I took Aunt Kiki and Neens to one of our favorite spots in NYC, The Boathouse!

We stopped for some refreshments and people watching, we saw it all from brides and wedding parties, to World Cup fans to tourists taking in the sights!

I am fortunate enough to have two aunts who are professional photographers, Aunt Deanie and Auntie Wendy.  They took a bunch of photos during Gabriela’s Baptism, we will share those later. Here are some shots outside the church before the service began.

Here’s my daddy with two of my older cousins, Nevin and Jack who were in town from Queensbury, NY

Auntie Wendy and Grammy took Lilian for a fun walk in the Theatre District as we waited for folks to arrive.

Aunt KiKi dressed me in my Christening gown.  This gown was made for my Neens by her Godmother and has been worn by my mommy and my aunts as well as all of my cousins on my mommy’s side of the family.  It’s a precious tradition and I am honored to wear it.

My beautiful Grandmothers, Grammy and Neens, at the post-Christening brunch, Cupping Room in Soho.

Family visits are always too short.  This shot was taken before Neens and Aunt KiKi headed to the airport back to Texas.  My mommy really hates to say goodbye.

Fortunately The Phillips family stayed an extra week and went to Collinsville with us!

Happy 3 Months to Me!

My Godfather, Uncle Russ, and I hanging in Brookfiled, CT where he and Auntie Katie hosted an awesome BBQ for us and Aunt Deanie’s family.

My cousin, Anna Riley, is the best babysitter around!  Whenever I come visit, Anna never lets me out of her sight!

Aunt Deanie was quite the ‘baby whisperer’ as she calmed me to sleep in her arms.

My cousin Seamus is such a loving cousin to me and my sister.

One of my oldest cousins, Fallon, takes over while listening to interesting conversations around the dinner table.

Aunt Patty and Uncle Al hosted their annual 4th of July party.  Anna Riley looked after me while we stayed cool inside.

In inevitable finally happend, we had to say goodbye to my Aunt Deanie, Uncle Shad, Greanly and Carson.  We had a them over for dinner one last time and said our tearful goodbyes. I wish we all lived closer.

Back to our silly little lives…

hanging in NYC with my dad, happy as a clam!

My dad has Tour de France fever!  I wore my bike one-sie in support of one of the toughest days on the tour.

My mom set out my activity mat and my sister can’t seem to get enough of it.  She loves hanging out with me with me there.

Usually not a fan of “tummy time”, I gave my mom a bit of smile during this particular session.  Maybe it was my “outrigger” arm that made it all more bearable!

I have outgrown my basinette and have moved to my sisters crib where we share the nursery. Mom and dad are apprehensive as Mom has returned to work full time and dear old dad is realizing he doesnt even know what hit him! He contemplated the calm before the storm spending as much time as he could last weekend on the front porch of our country mouse house company town by the river. Dear old dad may not see his his beloved garden for weeks! He went for maximum time with his tomatoes and feiry chiles on his final weekend in C-ville.

Thanks for following along on my journey.  My parents will try to be more prompt with these updates, but these days you just never know. In the meantime, please keep in touch, we love hearing from you!

Happy Summer and Stay Cool!

The Upper Breast Side

Since I last posted, BP’s Deep Water Horizon, has become an entire new American four state toxic territory. “As the gusher continues to flow a mile below the surface in the Gulf, BP CEO Tony Hayward spent this past Saturday at a prestigious yacht race around England’s Isle of Wight”. Republican, Joe Barton, apologized to Hayward on national TV over the creation of a 20 billion dollar fund to pay for its environmental terrorism. Nutcase Michelle Bachman called the fund “extortion” and teabagger darling Rand Paul called the fund “un-American”!
As the battle over marriage moves closer to the Supreme Court, the drug addict, gay bashing, Rush Limbaugh wed for the fourth time .  Ironically  “America’s right wing radio king” hired Elton John, the openly gay pop diety to serenade a rat pack from hell, including Hannity, Rudy, and Clarence Thomas.  Elton John, one of the world’s foremost AIDS activisits sold his soul for a cool million to sing for this gay baiting provocateur who has trivialized AIDS and speculated that same sex marriage could “lead people to marry dogs”. I guess the comdedian,  feels gays can entertain at weddings as long as they do not not attempt to have them for themselves!  We then learned about Al and Tipper Gore who made public their separation to a stunned nation. The Clintons endured and the Gores…splitzville? How could it be?

Meanwile, a partisan Supreme Court  heard a seminal case that will certainly provoke furor on our tea bagger tinderbox nation.

Here on 103rd street, quite frankly, the fussy one has catipulted into the perfect child compared with preparing my big sister to go to bed in her “big girl bed” which she had already mastered before I entered the scene.  Now it’s a full on screaming match and hurling herself at the door for a good half hour or so.  Ferber is the flavor of the month as my folks struggle to provide some structure while working in this insane city in these insane times.

My sister just can’t get enough of me.  Can’t a girl get her diaper changed in peace?  Apparently not.

Through the kindness of my parents’ friends, Heather and Kevin, we are the proud owners of  a Phil and Ted double stroller!  My mom never thought she would be one of those moms, but out of courtesy to our caregivers, who may not be as comfortable wearing a sling or baby carrier, it’s a welcomed form of transportation around the city.  On our first trial stroll, Lilana was all smiles and I took a nap, that’s all the confirmation my mom needs!

Grammy and Grampy paid us another visit, this time with a bike seat for Liliana!  While Daddy and Grampy took my sister for a ride, Grammy and I spent some quality time together.

Since Liliana must know what I am doing at all times, she scootched right in and planted a sweet kiss on my forehead.

Strike a Pose!

Daddy loves this shot!

Seconds after this photo was taken my sister pulled me off the couch and on to the living room floor of our NYC apartment!

This is me after I stopped screaming! My sister and daddy were as scared as I!

Just another bump on the long and winding road that is the great highway of life!

My name is Gabriela Bernadette and I, according to my pediatrician, am in the 89th percentile for height and 75th percentile for weight! I am beginning to smile, grasp, and push off and hold my head up! I have begun vocalizing and am getting to know the sound of my own vocal cords!

Until we meet again,

Ta Ta Dear Hearts!

I love New York in June
How about you
I like Gershwin tune
How about you
I love a firesight
When a storm is due
I like potatoe chips
Moonlight and moto trips
How about you

I’m mad about good books
Can’t get my fill
And new Capitol’s looks
Gives me a thrill
Holding hands in a movie show
When all the lights are low
May not be new
But I like it
How about you

I love to dream of fame
Maybe I’ll shine
I’d like to see your name
Right beside mine
I can see we’re in harmony
Looks like we both agree
On what to do
And I like it
How about you

Waiting for the Parade

My name is Gabriela Bernadette and I am two months old! I have had some unconsolable moments in my first eight weeks. I think my folks forgot that Liliana had unconsolable moments herself. I think my parents have forgotten that they oft needed a “walk in the park” with big sis in the sling primarily for consolation purposes.  They have failed to notice how I have accepted the bottle from its first introdcution and Liliana, story be told, refused anything but mom’s breast, initially.

My big sister continues to be very sweet with me, but time with mom she is reluctant to graciously share.

Oil continues to spew into the Gulf of Mexico for the sixth week of my two month life. There are daily images of a once endangered Pelican population gobbed in BP crude and Nobama propagandists are calling for Obama’s “Katrina”. The GOP is screaming for more government and Ms.” Drill Baby Drill ” is using her twit page to rewrite history. (wink)!  Funny, Dick Cheney has been strangely silent in recent weeks, though our ex President admitted to war crimes, shrugging that he’d commit them again to save American lives! The zany actor, Dennis Hopper, who like Lazurus would come back from the brink of destruction time and time again, died at the age of 74.  Tragic child star Gary Coleman and UCLA coach John Wooden died since I last blogged.  Wooden coached the famous UCLA Lew Al Cindor v. University of Houston, Elvin Hayes, NCAA hoop showdowns that Grampy would get daddy out of bed for when he was a little boy.  The Rolling Stones remastered and repackaged “Exile on Main Street” with 10 new 1972 songs, Daddy of course had the box set the day it was released and mom had a hard time prying it from his hands! Mom dipped her toe into the pool called “work” this week and daddy continues his not-as-fun-as-the-train commute back and forth from Broadway Stages in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

Miss Leigh (or as my sister calls her, Miss Ree) and her husband, Mr. Bob, came by to meet me and visit with my mom and Liliana while Dad was at work.  I was sleeping for most of their visit, but awoke to wave hello and give some smiles.  Miss Ree and Mr. Bob took Liliana on a walk in Central Park, or more like it, she took them for a walk and would not let them come home!  In true form Miss Ree and Mr. Bob showered us with adorable clothes and awesome books for me and my sister and delicious cookies for Mom and Dad.

Since shortly after my birth, my dad has been doing a lot of commuting to Long Island locations and back each day to work on a TV show called, ROYAL PAINS.  His favorite part of the day is coming home and hanging with his girls.  Freshly bathed and full of smiles, my sister makes the hanious L.I.E. commute home all worth while!

My sister is tenderheaded and gives my mom a struggle everytime she tries to comb her hair.  That’s my sister behind those long locks, notice how calm and sweet I am being, she has a lot to learn from me!

Grammy and Grampy visited us in Collinsville.  We had a nice walk to the new town Gellato cafe where Grampy bought treats for everyone!

“When she smiles she makes the sun shine” -Al Anderson

My daddy has clearly been playing the remastered Stones discs way too much! Everytime I hear “Plundered My Soul”, I make my Rolling Stones logo face!

I love hanging out on my NYC changing table that Grampy made.  I love listening to the great world spin.

Liliana and Daddy gave me one of their infamous Family Evening band practices on Mommy & Daddy’s bed. Do you Kazoo?

We are all dressed up and waiting on mom and dad to load the car .  It’s my first Memorial Day and we are headed to Brookfiled, CT where we will join the Brookfield Oesers (Uncle Russ, Auntie Katie, Fallon, Seamus, Anna, and Max), Grampy and Grammy, Uncle Al and Aunt Patty and Auntie Katie’s sweet mamma, Imelda, for a hometown parade, good food and lots of family face time!

We pulled into Brookfield’s Surrey Drive at the same time as Grammy and Grampy.  Grammy made some delicious red devil cupcakes with cool little flags in each one. Grammy turned some heads in her Amish overalls!

I was pretty pooped from the ride.  Here I am in my cousin, Fallon’s, lap as we wait for the parade to arrive. She is the elder of all my female cousins!

Even the drums and bagpipes could not wake me from my gentle slumber.

“It’s Memorial Day in America
This is how it’s supposed to be
Let’s remember our fallen heroes

In the land of the free”

-James McMurtry

Finally awake and ready for some ragtime jazz and Strawberry Shortcake post parade treats!

Back at Auntie Katie’s and Uncle Russ’s house.  I was one fidgety girl, but Auntie Katie had the magic touch and I slumbered long enough for everyone to eat.

Back in C’Ville our town parade marches right in front of our house.  Marlowe, Greyson and Liliana had the best seats in the house!

I woke up from my morning nap just in time to wail at the parade as it passed by.

Akis brought over chocolate ice cream and cones for all of the kiddos.  I look forward to that treat next year!

Mommy was happy to have the help of her mommy-friends who would happily take me in their arms for awhile.

“…What a lucky, lucky, lucky
Lucky girl you are
For you have swings to be swung on
Trees to be climbed up
Days to be young on
Toys you can wind up
Grass to be lying on
Sun up above
Pillows for crying on
When you`re in love
Ponies for riding
Wind in your hair
Slides to be sliding on
Leaves in the air
Dogs to be caring for
Love to be giving
Dreams to be daring for
Long as you`re living
Yes, you have
Dreams to be daring for …
What a lucky, lucky, lucky
Lucky girl you are…”

Jenny Rebecca, Carol Hall

“Tears, tears and more tears”

Currrent events of note:  BP continues to grossly mislead officials, the media, and the public concerning the amount of oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico.

Ron Paul upset his Kentucky rival in an Republican primary by a 2 to 1 margin then had his victory party in a private country club that excluded the minions who voted for him.  He then went live on several newscasts and was critical of the Civil Rights Act where it interesects with private businesses.

Disgraced cyclist Floyd Landis, who used millions of fan contributions to fight his Tour de France doping innocence in court and then wrote a book about that innocence, now claims he not only purjured himself and swindled the entire US Postal Team that delivered Lance Armstrong’s Tour de France victories claiming Armstrong was with him and Coach Burneel was not just the coach of the team, but the team doctor as well.

My mom tried in vain to get my one month photo taken at a local portrait studio.  My two looks for the shoot were either a “full on cry” or “asleep” and neither of those are what my mom or the photographer had in mind.

My dad has been a little bummed to not be aptly represented in the past blogs, so this one’s for you Dad!

My sister, Liliana, celebrated her 2nd birthday in Central Park with cupcakes from The Dancing Baker.  I slept like a baby for the entire ordeal while being passed around in the arms of all of the guests!  When you ask my sister how old she is, she responds, “16”!

Kristina is one of the first sitters who watched Liliana, and now she is watching over me.  The next two photos were taken by her:

Snoozing in the shade with Helene.   I remained in her arms until she delivered me safely back home to our humble abode on 103rd street.

The perfect end to Liliana’s 2nd birthday, ice cream on the stoop with dad!

Angelic as this picture may seem, my mom noticed that I cried real tears for the first time this week, heartbreaking, right?

We spent an afternoon at the Jewish museum for the Curious George Family Day.  We enjoyed a concert by the Funky Monkeys and strolled around the Margaret and H.A. Rey exhibit.  I of course was the perfect museum attendee and slept in the sling the whole time!

My sister helped my mom mail my birth announcements to our family spread across the country.

The action packed weekend must have adjusted my mood because as the week started out like a Lee Dorsey song “Tears, tears and more tears”, the week has ended with me acting more like an animated newborn communicating with smiles instead of tears.

“A smile is the light in the window of your face that tells people you are home.”

Not sure who wrote this quote, my mom read it on a coffe mug!

Are You My Mother?

My name is Gabriela Bernadette and I am one month old.

Since I have been born, a bungling homegrown Jihadist attempted to car bomb Times Square.  I have not stopped crying since the April 20th explosion of the Deepwater Horizon that killed 11 workers and continues to gush horrifying quantities of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico!  Just days ago, the Staten Island Ferry rammed its terminal deck injuring dozens; Tiger Woods quit the final round of the Players Championship citing an old neck injury; Lena Horne dies at 92 and Obama has nominated Elena Kagan as the nations 112 justice to the Supreme Court.  If confirmed it will be the first time 3 women have sat on the bench.  Lastly, we must include in my opening litany, the Greek debt woes rippling outward from Asia to the USA causing a European recession.

That’s what’s shakin’ Jamacian!

The first thing my sister asks when she wakes up is “Where’s Gab-a-wel-wa?”  and when she finds me she gives me a kiss.

A rare moment when Daddy is home from work in the evening and I am not crying.  It’s not my fault, I don’t mean to drive my parents crazy, I am just a baby!

“Happy Cinco de Mayo, my little Burrito!”

I am all smiles for my friend, Jim!

Happy Birthday, Mommy!  I am so sorry your birthday dinner was a disaster and you had to take us home while Daddy got your dinner to-go, lesson learned: get a sitter!

Uncle Emerson came all the way to Collinsville from Boston to meet me before he made his cross country trip to Arizona!

Mother’s Day morning in Collinsville before Daddy and Liliana made breakfast in bed for Mommy!

“While we honor all our mothers
with words of love and praise.
While we tell about their goodness
and their kind and loving ways.
We should also think of Grandma,
she’s a mother too, you see….
For she mothered my dear mother
as my mother mothers me.”

“Keep On Truckin’ “, Liliana Louise! My sister LOVES her new bike! An amazing Grampy ground score!  Daddy and Liliana took a ride  so mom could shower in peace while I slept.

Upon Liliana’s return, she came bearing flowers!

The family is back in the city and surrounding mom with love, every day should be Mother’s Day!

“Are you my mother?”

Jim showed up with an awesome Morrocan dinner as we continued to celebrate Mother’s Day!

Family photo on Mother’s Day night.  It must be the bewitching hour from Gabriela’s expression.

In honor of Mother’s Day, I conclude the week’s blog with an amazing Billy Collins poem called “The Lanyard” that my daddy gave to Grammy on Mother’s Day.

The Lanyard

The other day I was ricocheting slowly
off the blue walls of this room,
moving as if underwater from typewriter to piano,
from bookshelf to an envelope lying on the floor,
when I found myself in the L section of the dictionary
where my eyes fell upon the word lanyard.

No cookie nibbled by a French novelist
could send one into the past more suddenly—
a past where I sat at a workbench at a camp
by a deep Adirondack lake
learning how to braid long thin plastic strips
into a lanyard, a gift for my mother.

I had never seen anyone use a lanyard
or wear one, if that’s what you did with them,
but that did not keep me from crossing
strand over strand again and again
until I had made a boxy
red and white lanyard for my mother.

She gave me life and milk from her breasts,
and I gave her a lanyard.
She nursed me in many a sick room,
lifted spoons of medicine to my lips,
laid cold face-cloths on my forehead,
and then led me out into the airy light

and taught me to walk and swim,
and I, in turn, presented her with a lanyard.
Here are thousands of meals, she said,
and here is clothing and a good education.
And here is your lanyard, I replied,
which I made with a little help from a counselor.

Here is a breathing body and a beating heart,
strong legs, bones and teeth,
and two clear eyes to read the world, she whispered,
and here, I said, is the lanyard I made at camp.
And here, I wish to say to her now,
is a smaller gift—not the worn truth

that you can never repay your mother,
but the rueful admission that when she took
the two-tone lanyard from my hand,
I was as sure as a boy could be
that this useless, worthless thing I wove
out of boredom would be enough to make us even.

– Billy Collins

Upper West Side Story

“Sisters, sisters
There were never such devoted sisters,
Never had to have a chaperone, no sir,
I’m there to keep my eye on her
Caring, sharing
Every little thing that we are wearing…”

– Irving Berlin

My dearest Neens got quite a workout at “Camp Postpartum” upstairs .
The only time she got a break was when she would burp me and rock me to sleep – she was really good at that!

Dad ran “Camp Big Sister” downstairs!

Here I am with Neens and Liliana, our outfits are courtesy of Aunt KiKi (Auntie Christy in Texas).  She said all sisters should wear matching outfits until it’s not cool anymore!

Comfy and snoozing in my sling at the Spring Fling at Flamig Farms in Simsbury, CT.  There were horses, chickens, an emu, a peacock, and  Liliana had her  first ride on a horse named “Waffle”and she even kissed a baby chick!

We could not wait for Tumblebrook Farm to open ! My big sister had her first milkshake! It was Coconut Almond Fudge and she taught me the word “mine”.

Check out these mighty,mighty  guns!

A beautiful late afternoon spring day spent by Leslie and Akis’ pond!

Photo shoot on our new porch the day before Neens heads back to Texas – we’ll miss you Neens!

“Who Knows Where The Time Goes”

Angelic Gabriela Bernadette, catching some ZZZs in her rainforest swing.

The irony of motherhood was not lost on me as my Neens departed and my mommy cried.  My mom’s sisters would rejoice upon Neen’s return and my mom would feel empty inside. A mothers love is indeed stretched thin sometimes!

Chillin’ on the couch after the journey from Collinsville to NYC.

I confess that I have been a little fussbucket since I last blogged.  Even mom, the planner, is exasperated.  The amazing combo of dual meltdowns in traffic jams as we make our way back and forth from our country and city homes is enough to drive my daddy insane!

My sister and I in our jammies before books and bedtime!

My Neens has returned to Texas and Dad  has returned to work, I have finally given my mom some peace while I  chill in my vibrating chair!

My mom took Liliana and I to visit Daddy while he was working at Mamma Mia! at the Winter Garden theatre on Broadway! My big sister was tearing around the beach taverna after Preset.

Tim Booth, friend and actor, was so happy to meet me.  I think he could have held me all day!

Once  Liliana was corraled, Daddy took me upstage to the Taverna Courtyard set for  my Broadway debut!

First bath… in a tub in the kitchen sink… my life is so glamorous!

My dad loves my post-bath Joe Strummer mohawk! Mommy and Daddy are fond of the phrase “Oh brother! Joe Strummer”!

I was born on the same day as a dear friend and Grammy and Grampy’s neighbor.   Dennis wrote me a poem to welcome me into this world!  It is featured here to end this week’s blog.

To Be Born In Spring (For Gabriela Bernadette Oeser)

“To be born in spring is to be born hopeful

That paths of promise will open for you,

And fragrant blossoms unfurl & bless April

With- yes- sweet dreams that must come true.

To be born in spring is to be born daring,

Is to shed winter’s fetters & burst free,

Is to laugh and dance in rain uncaring

If pale dullards find your ways silly.

To be born in spring, to arrive with birdsong,

Is to smile away misfortune’s cloud,

Is to cross swords with whatever’s wrong

And declare only freedom here’s allowed.

To be born in spring beside singing river,

By humming brook & melodious stream,

Is to be born where Change ceases never

But hear heaven’s music in every dream.

To be born in spring is to make God smile,

Is to tickle angels with feathered plumes,

Is to dance down the years, mile by mile,

So many setting suns & rising moons.

Now be free, be happy, my April child;

Be bold, be holy & follow your bliss.

This world is so wonderful and wild,

And every new poem carries a kiss.”

Love, Dennis Flaherty

Four Each Other

On the day I was born Daddy asked my big sister, Liliana, whether she wanted a baby brother or baby sister, she replied “more apple slices, Daddy”!

One the day I was born the headlines in the New York Times were Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, the fourth longest serving justice in US history announced his retirement at the end of this term.

The nation mourned the 25 Massey mine workers who perished in West Virginia and prayed for four remaining trapped miners who also perished just after I was born.

My name is Gabriela Bernadette and I jetlined in to this world at the St. Luke’s Roosevelt Birthing Center (in the same room as Liliana) on Friday, April 9, 2010 at 7:47pm!  I weighed 8 lbs 6 oz, and was 19 3/4 inches long.

Mom was a superhero once again.  She had a slice of pepperoni pizza while walking around the drizzly, windy midtown streets of Manhattan with my Dad two 1/2 hours before I was born.  Daddy has a whole new perspective after mommy’s second natural child birth.  He observed once again what the experts claim males have no backbone for.

Both Mommy and Daddy were shocked and overjoyed that I was a girl.  There were only two people steadfast in prediction of a girl.  They were my Uncle Shad and my Auntie Jody.  Ms. Leigh called it on Daddy’s announcement phone call, other than that predictions were all boy 24/7.

My night nurse, Sue, heard me cry for the first time as she reported for her shift and she said that I was “a little opera singer”.  Later after devouring my mamma’s breast, she remarked that I was “a hungry little opera singer”.

Meanwhile back at base camp W. 103 street our dear friend Ms. Eileen held down the fort.  My big sister, Liliana, was on her best behavior while Mommy delievered me into the world.

Liliana has been as “sweet as Tuepolo Honey” to me.  When I came home and Liliana heard me cry she told Mommy that I needed her “boo boo pillow”.

Our family would like to thank Neens (my maternal grandmother) who flew all the way from Frisco, Texas to meet me.  Thank you, Neens for being like water and for always selflessly going where she needs to be.

The Letter “M” :  Mamma, Me, and Midwife Coralee. My outfit was handed down from TX cousin Madigan and worn home by my big sister too!

Waiting to be discharged, Mommy takes some time with me.  It had been a whirlwind 24 hours, but Mommy was so happy I finally arrived –  6 days after my due date!

Daddy has a whole new perspective after watching his beloved bride heroically deliver their two daughters!

My Godfather, Uncle Russ, was the first person to come visit me when I was just 2 days old.  He took Daddy and Liliana out for music and brunch at Smoke so  Mommy and I could enjoy our quiet time together.

There were bets on 103rd street was that I was going to be a boy.  Here are Mommy and I with some of the lifelong residents of our street Tony, Butch and Alfonso.

Poem for a Daughter by Anne Stevenson

“…Why does a mother need a daughter?

Heart’s needle, hostage to fortune,

freedom’s end.  Yet nothing’s more perfect

than that blessing, razor-shaped cry

that delivers a mother to her baby.

The bloodcord snaps that held

their sphere togheter. The child,

tiny and alone, creates the mother.

A woman’s life is her own

until it is taken away

by a first particular cry.

Then she is not alone

but part of the premises

of everything there is:

a time, a tribe, a war.

When we belong to the world

we become what we are.”

Grammy and Grampy couldn’t wait to meet me!

My middle name is from my Grammy (Bernice Bernadette).Mommy and Daddy called me “Belle” before I arrived.

My Neens, fresh off of the airplane from Frisco, TX and looking mavelous!

My pediatrician, Dr. Grant, says that she has never seen eyes this blue turn brown (like my mommy and daddy’s), so we shall see…

Daytriping in my sling with my Neens at White Flower Farm, Litchfield, CT

Three generations!

Grammy, Neens and me

“We are one person

We are two alone

We are three together

We are four, for each other”

– Steven Stills