Summer is just around the corner

It seems like Summer just ended. However, in the dieting world it's just around the corner. Summer will be here in just 7 short months. If I wait until after the "holidays" to start "eating healthy", there will only be 5 months until bathing suit season. With the way things have been going, I really need to start thinking about "Deluxbury Beach" now!

A Poem

I wrote this for Jeff as a gift for our first Valentine's Day together. He in turn gave me a diamond ring and asked me to marry him :-)

The love of another is food for the soul, it nourishes, fills us and makes us feel whole.

It helps us to see life with dreamy bright eyes. It's bigger and bolder than the heavens and skies.

Our glorious God is the source of this love, it saturates the earth like spring rain from His kingdom above.

It satisfies a thirst in the depths of the heart. It's what holds people together when close or apart.

It's like the swirl of the smoke when a candle's burnt out, as it penetrates the air and spreads all about.

It's something that can be seen, felt, tasted and breathed in, yet it can also disappear and touch us in places within.

It helps us to be strong, confident, joyful and kind, and like a needle it injects peace, hope and patience in the heart, soul and mind.

It's because of a love that I write this today, for if it weren't for this love I'd have few words I could say.

This love has opened my eyes to see in a new light, and to notice God's goodness from morning till night.

My love was chosen for me like a ripe grape from the vine, that is essential for the creation of an extraordinary wine.

God put us together to learn and to grow, to be beautiful and pure, like a fresh fallen snow.

May we continue to see all the beauty and grace that God has so brilliantly put into place. Like the sound of the water as it trickles downstream or the foliage in autumn colored red, gold and green.

Let our life be a tapestry beautifully sewn and guided by God's love that's so selflessly shown.


To note: It snowed on our wedding day :-)

Happy Birthday to me, happy birthday to me

I am going to be 36 tomorrow. Thirty six. I'm not sad or upset or depressed. However, I'm certainly not as excited as my son, who turns 4 on Saturday. I just can't believe the number. I love my life, and I really have no regrets. I often ask God how it is that I have been so blessed, when other people have so many struggles and hardships. I thank God for my life every day (however, I will admit that there are days I wish I could run away and go somewhere else... a place where there is no screaming, crying and fighting...those days are tougher to "love" my life).

Anyway, back to being 36. At the age of 36 you have a "past." Does that make sense? I have gone through enough experiences in my life, and grown so much through them and from them that I'm not even the same person I was 20 years ago. There was high school Colleen, college Colleen, Grad school Colleen, speech therapist Colleen, living on my own Colleen, girlfriend Colleen (first time ever at the age of 29), engaged Colleen, married Colleen, pregnant Colleen, mother Colleen, mother pregnant with baby Colleen, mother pregnant with baby again Colleen, mother and wife Colleen, face book Colleen and blogger Colleen....that's a lot of Colleens!

I am now also old enough to be turning ages that I remember my mom turning! I was too little to remember my mom turning 27 or maybe even 30, but I remember her turning 36. I don't even know what this means, or what the heck my point is. I just think that's strange.

So Happy Birthday to me! May I eat chocolate to my hearts delight. May I remember that my life is a gift from God and that I should be good to myself and all those around me. And may the next 36 years be even better than the first. (and also Happy Birthday to my cousin Tim (the 5th), for my mom and my Aunt Kathy, who I share a b-day with, and to my beautiful son (the 7th).

A few more FB posts

The final round of past face book posts for now. I wasn't able to retrieve these from fb but they were some of my favorites so I tried my best to recreate them from memory. Here they are:

If a gray minivan passes by your house within the next 15 minutes with a baby screaming in such a way that it seems as though bamboo shoots are being shoved up her fingernails and the man driving is going gray before your eyes...I have no idea who that is.

Sunscreen $10, sandwiches $15, bathing suits $30. Getting ready for the beach with 2 small children and an infant?...A BIG pain in the ASS!

Colleen just finished making a homemade - from scratch - pizza on the grill, while taking care of two small children and a baby. I just can't seem to get the song from "Wonder Woman" out of my head...."In your satin tights, fighting for your rights, and the old red, white and blue...wonder woman! (come on sing it!), wonder woman!

Face Book entries..Round 2

Here are a few more of my face book posts that I copied and posted to my blog...enjoy!


Colleen Rafferty Ladino is getting a grip.

is drinking chai spice tea, burning a pumpkin pie candle and making creamy butternut squash soup....I. LOVE. FALL.!

My two year old daughter quietly took her shoes and socks off under the lunch table and then presented them up in the air and said (very politely), "Would you like to smell my feet?" To which I replied, "Well, no thank you. Please put your feet down now."

conversation with 3 year old son (he likes numbers these days): Me: "a one with a zero is 10 and a one with two zeros is a hundred" 3 year old son: "Mom it's ONE hundred not A hundred, you are mistaken." Me: "yes I am, you are correct," 3 year old son: "that's okay mom, I make mistakes too."

had 1/2 a glass of red wine tonight because 1. it's better for me than sweets 2. it has antioxidants 3. I'm an adult and 4. I wanted a pleasant little buzz..... Well, I just finished a massive hot flash (I feel like I'm 55), I was sick to my stomach for a while, and now I have a headache. Why can't I catch a break?

just took a sledgehammer to the rotting fence that goes around our house. Man that felt good!!!!!!!!

There is this strange breed of people that actually say things like, "I don't really like chocolate" and "sweets don't really do it for me." I must find these people and live with them to see how it is they are able to live without desserts. And then I must try to become one of them. Are any of you this type of person and if so, may I come to your home and study you?

my son just drew a picture of me complete with all my bones: my brain bone, my belly bone, my arm bone, my bum bone, my little feet bones (he didn't give me a leg bone), and my penis bone...I guess we're going to have to have a talk :-)

is AMAZED that they let men be on search and rescue missions since they ARE SO BAD at finding things! (ps, this post has nothing to do with the fact that both my husband and son can't find ANYTHING :-)

Good morning world from the land of the crying children and crying baby. We could really sound like a beautiful chorus if mommy starts crying too. :-)

first of all let me say that I could stare at my little baby girl ALL day because I think she is so beautiful. Let me also say that she has two teeth on the bottom and barely one on top and she is gggggrrrrrrinding them....shoot me now!

the baby was screaming and crying until the refrigerator door was opened. She speed crawled over and stood there inside of it doing happy babbling. I pray she isn't like her mother, finding true bliss raiding the fridge and freezer! (ps, I haven't had any junkfood ALL day).

had to take off the spanx between dinner and dessert tonight at my dad's 60th birthday party. I feared the tightness of the spanx was going to restrict the amount of cake and ice cream I would be able to jam into my stomach. Thank goodness I removed them. I think I was able to stuff in about double!

....bought a scale today...diet starts tomorrow...again!!!!

Is so tired of waking up with headaches that have nothing to do with any kind of fun the night before. It's not right and it's not fair. Unless cheesecake can cause a hangover? Maybe I should just start drinking..I mean really, if my heads going to hurt anyway!

After my last post I ate a piece of cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. The whole thing. :-) Hey, I never said that I didn't like my black sweat suit.

was a pediatric speech therapist for 8 years before becoming a stay-at-home mom for the past 4. When I tell you that I have NO cool clothes, know that I am speaking the truth. And when I tell you that I just sported the "black sweat suit because I'm too "nourished" to wear any of my regular clothes" to the mall, and... then tried to pretend like I fit in with all the other women, know that this is also true.Read More

says, "Screw the American Pediatric Association's recommendation of no more than 2 hours of t.v. per day for kids...today we're going for 10, possibly 12 hours!" Why? It's cold, it's dark and rainy, my allergies are HORRIFIC and it's Friday!

As a mother I choose the "short straw" almost everyday, but you know what? That is more than okay with me because I got the "long straw" for most of my life. I don't mind giving up some of my life because I can't even begin to explain the love that has developed within me since having them. They say that "love grows... love" and it's true. I can EVEN say this at 6:30 in the morning, before coffee (& chocolate).

just shared a touching moment with the baby. I gave her a bottle and quietly sang "Hail Mary Gentle Woman" to her, while she gazed up at me and picked my nose. It could have been a picture on a Hallmark card. Beautiful, just beautiful.

In case you haven't heard Elmo's mom lost her job (it appears the recession has hit Sesamee Street). I didn't know Elmo had a mom (he also has a dad). Do all the puppets have parents? This leads me to another question, Does Elmo have a gender? Do any of them? They all seem to be boys...Oh, and where are Baby Bears... parents? He has a speech disorder that needs attention..at least nobody is making fun of him.

Sooo, the baby just went dumpster diving (well okay, she fell in the trash) and she apparently thinks that mulch and dead leaves are more appetizing than avocados. I guess it's better than the day we had to wrestle a turd out of her older sister's hands when she was around 10 months old. She screamed bloody murder when we took that bad boy away!

So there is a relatively new show on a NEWS station here called, "The Secret Lives of Animals" (I didin't know they HAD secret lives). What's next? "Desperate Housecats," "THe Big Cow Theory," "How I met your Mare," "Goats Gone Wild," "P.I.G.S."....I came up with a few more..."Sex in the Barn", "Grey Elephant's Anatomy...", "Hannah the Horse Montana," "Big Baboon Brothers"....I better go, I need to get a life.

Sooo, the baby just blew a snot bubble out of her nose and my husband affectionately said, reminds me of you. It actually IS kind of sweet in a weird, gross kind of way. I guess in a perfect world he would have said her blue eyes remind him of me, but I'll take what i can get

.has NO, I repeat NO dirty clothes in the hamper OR on the laundry room floor right now! For at least a few minutes today all dirty clothes are WASHED!!!!

I went to the dr b/c I've been feeling lightheaded/woozy for a while..she wrote out a script and I picked it up...warning label: may cause dizziness. Ok? Is this supposed to be a step up?

Just came in the kitchen to find the baby chewing gum! Apparently a piece had fallen from the counter and she was chewing the wrapper and everything. She was LESS than pleased when I swiped it out of her mouth... you may have heard her at your house (distance is no factor for that type of screaming!)

My 3 year old son is in the upstairs bathroom doing his "business." I just yelled up, "Are you done?" My son: "Not yet! Can you get me a newspaper?!" He's a guy alright!

First round of face book entries

For those of you who know fb you'll understand what "posts" are. However, if you're a "non-face booker" I'll explain. On fb you can write anything that is on your mind, your name is first and then you write what's happening/what you're thinking etc. Posts always start with a persons name and are usually followed by "is", "was", "can't believe" etc.

Enjoy my posts if you are new to them and have fun re-reading if you're a fb friend :-)

Here they are:


I'm deactivating my account for a few months. Sorry if you are someone who I have just friended recently. I just have to get off fb for a while and I can't do it if I'm still on here. I'll keep it up and running until tomorrow so I can make sure to have phone numbers/ contact info for various people. I just have to make some changes in my life :-)


It's kind of hard to know how to treat my 3 year old son who is putting yogurt all over his body one minute, and then telling me a story with the words "mysterious" and "impatient," the next. Somewhere in between the ages of 3 and 15 I guess!

My son just said, "Mommy you have a big (then there was a pause and I held my breath bracing for the worst) brain." Phew! There are many parts of my body that are much bigger than my brain right now. I'll take it as a compliment, I mean at this point I AM the smartest woman he knows!

dreamed that I was helping Dan Rather find his car keys at his gym. WOW! An exciting dream like that is going to make this "stuck in the house rainy day" a bit more bearable. (Are you catching the sarcasm, because I'm laying it on pretty thick.)

walked into the kitchen to find that my son (almost FOUR) had taken off his shirt and lathered his upper torso and arms in blueberry yogurt. Really? Really?! Feel free to read my other posts today to see how the day has been going :-)

While typing my last post the baby got into the bathroom and was drinking water from the toilet. Hence, just another reason for writing my last post.

insane in the membrane. Insane in the brain!

was laughing this morning and almost SAID "LOL" while laughing.

I don't know which is worse, my sugar addiction or my fb addiction!

carrot sticks or halloween candy, carrot sticks or halloween candy, carrot sticks or halloween candy............

Hello, my name is Colleen and I am a dessertoholic. It has been almost 24 hours since my last sweet. I spent a good part of the day obsessing on why I should have just one more dessert (I've been succesfully agruing in favor of the dessert for the past 10 months), and the other part of the day telling myself NO!!!! This left about 5 minutes of my mental time for my husband and children. They feel loved :-)

Thinks it's funny that right now on my side wall it says, "Jeff Ladino - reconnect with him - post something on his wall." Thank YOU fb for helping me out with my marriage. Wow, fb really does bring people closer together.

just tried having a heart to heart with my 3 year old son after a lot of frustration, yelling, and eventually a time-out for him. Me: "I'm sorry Mommy got so upset and wasn't smiling for a while. Sometimes it's hard for Mommy to smile after I get really upset. My son looked at me and said, "When I do peepee and poopoo that means I'm getting bigger." Good talk son, good talk."

Before you critize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way when they get angry, they'll be a mile away....and barefoot." From a bumper sticker I saw today :-)

The water coming out of our bathroom sink smells like the sewer. I'm thinking we should brush our teeth in the kitchen sink till this situation is resolved (maybe that's why my son said my teeth look dirty....I know...totally gross, but totally funny). PS, Julie...it's all for the laughs

has the cutest kids on earth. Sure they eat paper products & lick water from dirty puddles, and they tell me I'm squishy & make me crazy & ignore me & tell me my teeth are dirty (whatever) & they spill things all over the house, and at times make me daydream about when I was single. But they are sweet, and innocent,... and beautiful, and kind, and loving, and I wouldn't trade them in for anything.

is so glad I don't have to deal with the morning commute anymore. One of the many perks of being a stay-at-home mom!

got into bed last night and found a dinosaur under my pillow. Bet none of you had a t-rex in your bed!

My 3 year old son looked at me at dinner tonight and said, "Hey, your teeth are dirty." I said, "Oh, do I have food stuck in them?" and he said, "no." I said, "well, what color are they?" He said, "white" (that's good) "with brown on the bottom." Awesome. Almost immediately after that my 2 year old daughter asked... if she could squish my belly. I need to start hanging out with people who aren't so blunt.

gave her two year old 2 prunes at breakfast (she LOVES them, but I made her stop at two). Her father didn't know this and let her have FIVE dried apricots at church. This post is just a warning to all of you so you don't freak out if you feel a minor earthquake or hear a small explosion, it's nothing serious...just a weeks worth of fiber packed into a 2 year old in one day!

thinks there is nothing sweeter than my 9 month old baby patting me on the back while I'm holding her, my 2 year old looking up at me and saying, "will you play with me?" and my 3 year old son saying he wants to marry me. :-) Oh come on, that's not gross...he's 3!

told my husband I had fried "dickles" last night (I was trying to say fried dill pickles :-)....fried dickles just doesn't leave a pretty picture in my mind :-o

is feeling a few sandwiches short of a picnic, sharp as a bowling ball, a few fries short of a happy meal today. Get the point? If you don't then you can join me in the shed, while we eat our happy meals and throw bowling balls at lawn furniture :-)

has this strange feeling. I haven't felt it in a while. I believe it's called hunger, which means I might be on the right track to losing some weight. Somehow I don't think feeling full all the time is getting me to where I want to be :-)

is glad that "wheat" is listed as an allergin on the box of "Shredded Wheat" I just bought. If it didn't have that allergin listed, people who have a wheat allergy might buy shredded wheat. WOW!

was up at 5:30...at 6:30 was in the car with my husband and my children heading to Logan...get to Logan and my husband and I realized we FORGOT MY LUGGAGE!!!!!! Guess where I am now? I don't know if I should cry, laugh or scream!

remember the episode of "FRIENDS" when Ross gets stuck in his leather pants and uses powder and lotion to try and get out? Ya, well I had a similar experience in a fitting room today - minus the powder and lotion..and celebrity status...and computerized audience laughter. Anyone else ever try on something too small and get stuck?

is wondering if it's a bag thing that the BABY was touching some dvds in the dvd case and then looking up at the tv...I'm also wondering if it's worse that she started clapping when the video was put in the tv was turned on!

had ANOTHER epiphany! Soooo, I've basically been pregnant for the past 3 1/2 - 4 years, which means I'm used to eating like I'm pregnant (whatever the bleep bleep and bleep that I want). I think my mind thinks that I should be pregnant right about now (I'M NOT!!!) and so it's telling my mouth to pack it in! Now to ...remember how I ate before I was ever pregnant...THAT should do the trick :-)

"Potty Talk"- Me to my 3yr old: "Wow, that is QUITE a poo poo" Son: "It's a log. Logs are circles with no branches." Me: "Has a branch ever come out of your bum?" Son: "ha ha, you are kidding me. You are making a joke." He's finally starting to get my humor! Sorry if you didn't want to read about poop tonight. Oh ...and he won't be scarred by this either, he'll think it's funny I posted it on fb..in 30 years or so.

Your search is over! If you've been looking for a place to sit, stand or lie down and have a good cry, have I got the place for you! We just had three small people crying in unison, but my feeling is - the more, the merrier! So come on over to my house if you feel some tears brewing. Heck, I maaay just join you!

just had an epiphany! When I used to babysit at night I would raid the pantry and fridge after the kids went to bed (Sarah, no telling your parents, like I'm sure they didn't know). NOW that I'm a stay at home mom I think it's like babysitting, FOR LIFE, and I raid the kitchen ALL DAY....WOW! Now I know why I'm eating so much. Hmmm, now how do I stop? (maybe I shouldn't write all my thoughts on fb)

is trying to teach a 9 month old baby that there are acceptable times to scream/cry like she's having shots, being stepped on or having her hair ripped out (if she had hair)...having her diaper changed is NOT one of these times.

At dinner tonight my husband said to my son, "What do you like about Mommy?" My son (very seriously) said, "Her belly. It's squishy." I told him I was pregnant with a cookie baby and he said, "I love cookies." (so does mommy)

Anyone ever been to an allergist? Okay, so AFTER she pricked my arms 24 times she says, "Some of these are going to puff up and itch really bad. Scream, yell, meditate, do whatever it takes - but DON'T itch them. I'll be back in 10 minutes to check them." WHAAAT?! About 3 minutes later I had about 8 massive mosquito bite looking welts that itched like a mutha #@#%$#@!!! Awesome

Happy Monday everyone! Let's see...I woke up to a screaming baby, I have a muscle spasm in my neck and I can't move my head, and I have NO chocolate! BUT, I AM a superhero so I will use my superpowers to MAKE this day good (and no, I haven't lost my mind).

although nobody said anything, they knew the were in the presence of a modern day miracle, as my fellow shoppers watched me walk up and down the isles of the grocery store resisting all types of sugary, chocalatey, salty, & creamy goodness. At the checkout the cashier looked at my health food filled cart and bowed to me. I think I heard Wonder Woman being played off in the distance somewhere......

I love my baby so much, but you could record her scream, put in on repeat and use it as a torture device.

Life After FB

I am taking break from fb but realize now that I need to write. I continue to think of funny things to say and need some type of outlet. For starters, I've gained 15 pounds since July. I've been eating food like it's my job. Too bad it's not because I would be making some serious money for the family. However, I joined a gym this weekend and am pumped to be getting sweaty and burning some calories.
I've also been getting reacquainted with my children since stopping fb. When did Kelly start walking anyway?? Just kidding, she actually took her first steps today. Ok, she is currently clinging to the bottom of my leg crying so I'll have to cut this post short.
Off to make her a bottle and get some dinner going. :-)