Dana Daily

Poor Sarah! She vomited in her bed at 11:45 last night and then every five minutes after. From the outset she said she stomach hurt like someone was stabbing her. Around 1am, I finally called the on-call nurse although my mind was pretty much made up to take her to Children's. I called her dad and let him know what was going on. He met us at the hospital. They got us back into a room quickly, and immediately gave her Zofran. Unfortunately, it didn't settle her stomach right away and she continued vomiting, though not at such frequent intervals. After several hours, the vomiting did stop and we got home around 5:30. It was determined that all she had was a virus, and not appendicitis, which was a concern initially with regard to the stomach pain she was feeling. Sal called off so that he could take care of Sarah and Seth so I could sleep. Emmy couldn't wait to get out of the house and off to school. Sal made sure she got to the bus stop on time. I disinfected every...

It's a milestone birthday, Sarah is double digits today. Happy {TENTH} Birthday to the little girl who made me a mom. How has a decade passed already? When they handed this little 5lb, 10oz peanut to me there is no way I could have imagined where we would be in ten years. It seemed impossibly far into the future, for starters. I also thought my life's path was defined and set in stone, as silly as that seems now. It's also ridiculous to realize that Sarah may have been my first, but I've welcomed two more babies since. For someone who never planned to have children, the fact that I have three still astonishes me. When this picture was taken, I had no plans on having a second, and certainly not 18 months later. What an adventure. Sarah is one of the most laid-back, go-with-the-flow, generally content children I know. She is turning into such a beautiful young lady, both inside and out. She avoids drama whenever possible and sometimes gets left behind the chaos of d...

Sal finished framing the basement, and the electricians were here yesterday and today. In addition to installing can lights, switches, and outlets in the basement, we had some projects completed upstairs as well. I wanted an outlet added underneath the window in the girls' room. There are two outlets in their room, but they are hidden on the wall beside their beds. With the new outlet, we'll be able to plug in an alarm clock and a humidifier. The electricians also switched out the horrible ceiling fan in Seth's room with a much nicer model. The original one was too small for the room, loud, and a little wobbly too, when on high. The new one is much better fit and silent. He loves it. Something I've been wanting for awhile was a fancier light in our master bath, ie powder room. The cheap square fan and light was just an eyesore. It did the job, but I wanted something a little more girly. I don't love the medallion, but it was all Lowe's had in this size so I...

Today was Anthony's Baptism at Immaculate Conception church in Washington, PA. We arrived around 1:15 and the Baptism began at 1:30. The deacon who performed the sacrament did a really nice job. My sister had asked my mom to do a reading and for Sarah and Emmy to read the Responsorial Psalm. They practiced hard all day Saturday and on the way to the Baptism. They got up and took turns just like they were used to doing at St. Ursula's. They read flawlessly and without hesitation, even with big words like stouthearted, contemplate, and refuge. Those were words that had given them trouble when we were rehearsing. As his godmother, I got to hold Anthony for the actual baptism, and he barely fussed. He did spit up on me in appreciation, but with three of my own, this didn't even phase me. The girls found it gross however. Afterwards we went to Adam's Pine Creek Buffet, and I successfully avoided the dessert table, in keeping with my Lenten sacrifice. I love their chicke...

Grandma passed away on February 1, 2015, but she would have been 99 today. I've been replaying 37 years of memories in my mind all day. Everyone needs a grandma in their corner, and I was lucky enough to have two.

February 28, Fat Tuesday: In my most ambitious sacrifice over the past Lenten seasons of my adult life, I have decided to give up junk food/sweets/sugary drinks. Admittedly, I'm still about 30lbs overweight and my motivation has been lacking lately. With shorts and tank top season just around the corner, I'm hoping Lent is the swift kick I need to get back on track. My goal is to lose 10lbs, but I'm not sure that is realistic in 40 days. I'm just going to see how this goes. March 1, Ash Wednesday: I worked from home today and it was amazing to me the number of times I felt like going to the cupboard for a cookie. I wasn't even craving the cookie, I just wanted to eat. There was a lull in the action and I wanted to fill it with food. I made it through the day without falling off the wagon. I ate more carbs, crackers, than I would have liked, but no junk food. March 2: I didn't define what junk food is exactly, but when I think of junk food I primarily thi...