...and counting...

Joey is 7 months old today.

(The little guy on the right...the big goof on the left is 368 months and one day.)

Spring Break Part 1

Well, I'm on spring break this week; another perk of being a teacher. We spent the first part of it on Long Island with my family. It was, as usual, a relaxing time for us and exhausting for my parents. Carmellina had a fever, Rosemary had diarrhea, Alice threw up on the den carpet and Joey spit up on the new couch in the living room.
But other than a few bodily-fluid-based mishaps, the visit was nice. Jeanna and my grandmother both came out to stay as well and, of course, we had visits from Aunt Cira and Uncle Gary and Uncle Dom too. It was also Palm Sunday so we spent time making palm crosses and baskets. My dad even helped Rosemary make her own basket.
While we were there Joey learned how to sit up without falling over. He’s also been eating a lot of solids now so my Dad tried to feed him a meatball. That didn’t go over too well. He did, however, get the chance to show the girls one of his favorite Laurel and Hardy movies, The Music Box, and Carmellina really thought it was funny. Rosemary was just stressed out by it.
I got sick on Tuesday, the day we were supposed to leave, so we stayed one day longer, which I’m sure everyone was really upset about (not).
We’re back in Philly now and we’ll just hang around the house for another few days until work again next Tuesday!

Passing the Human Torch

One of the reasons I went into teaching was to help mold and shape the minds of America's youth. I may pass on some day but the legacy I leave with my students will endure for generations.

With that in mind, we decided that our yearbook's theme for this year should be "comic books."

It's a known fact that the human mind is capable of learning only so many things. In my younger days I selflessly dedicated my mind to the in-depth study of comic books and the never-ending task of collecting any and all comics, annuals, cards, and action figures. I also collected magazines that were about collecting comics, annuals, cards and action figures. This all came (by God's mercy) to a grinding halt when I started dating. There was only so much money to spend and I could only blow it on one fruitless endeavor at a time. Looking back now I can see that I made the wrong choice.

Yet despite my years of absence from the Marvel Universe my mind managed to retain all of the information I studied in elementary and middle school. Vital facts like the real name of Shadowcat (Kitty Pride); Colossus' country of origin (Russia); the name Galactus' herald (Norrin Radd, the Silver Surfer), who Nightcrawler's mother was (Mystique), and what became of Captain America's side-kick (Bucky) after he was frozen in ice (the Soviets thawed him out and brain-washed him and made him a super-soldier with a bionic arm and named him Winter Soldier and he fought against Captain America for years until Nick Fury [the director of S.H.E.I.L.D.] managed to set him right just before Steve Rogers [Captain America] was assassinated by a sniper and then finished off by his fiance Sharon Carter who was brainwashed by Dr. Faustus (who was allied with the Red Skull) on the steps of the court house as he was going to fight against the Superhero Registration Act and now Bucky is the new Captain America only he carries a gun and I think they'll probably find some way to resurrect Steve Rogers sooner or later because that's what always happens in comic books).

Since we chose the comic book theme, I've spent the better part of this school year joyfully "researching" comics books, comic encyclopedias, comic cards and (this is a new development for me) comic websites like marvel.com and dccomics.com where I can search character bios, event time lines, "universe connections," and comic book blogs. It's now possible for me to waste hours of time without getting off my recliner.

This year I got 11 students to put their brains to the task of deciding how to fit the obligatory elements of a yearbook into a format that would make it look like a comic book. It was a LOT of fun and the kids really got behind it with some very creative ideas. I wish that I could put it online to show it off, but I don't think that's possible. I can, however, share this much with you.

Every year we devote two pages to ourselves (the publications team). In keeping with our theme I managed to convince 11 inner-city high school students to dress up like superheroes and stand on the roof of our school for a photo shoot. They were a little hesitant at first but we ended up having a blast. It was the most I've laughed and the most fun I've had with my students in a long time. Check out the slide show on the right to see just how far I got them to go.

Joe Sinagra...working hard today to warp the minds of tomorrow's leaders!

Carmellina's Potato People

Carmellina has entered her "mandala stage" in drawing. Here's a picture she did along with her explination.

Nicholson

While Joe was away at a confrence in NY, the children and I took a road trip to Northeastern Pennsylvania to visit with my parents and brother.


We took our time getting there on Wednesday, witnessing two car fires along the way, hitting snow in the Poconos, and not stopping til Nicholson! It was a little after four p.m. when we finally got in and my brother, Nick, took the girls outside to play in the snow as soon as we finished saying hello. They got to go sledding-even our timid Carmellina went down the hill! That night we ate a dinner of tomato soup and grilled cheese around the coffee table in the living room, with everyone, including grandparents, squished together on the couch. It was very cozy.


Thursday was a day at home away from home. The girls and Joey and I just did our usual routine, but at my parents' house instead. Rosemary observed that it was strange to have our regular day somewhere else. Somehow it was relaxing for me. I even enjoyed cooking dinner that night with Nick...we took turns holding the baby so we could cook. He even found time to take Carmellina outside to play again.


Dad took off on Friday and shared his love for skiing with us by taking us for a trip up to Elk Mountain. We went just to take a look and to get the girls thinking about it a bit. The most exciting thing to them was not watching people ski, but watching them sit down on the chair lift! For me it's been over ten years since I went skiing, but I felt the same thrill over the sport that I felt when I was little, standing at the base of the mountain with my dad. We hope to go next year- all of us, except the baby, I guess. :)


That night we went to Chuck E Cheese for dinner and play. I think we grown ups were a bit put off by the change in their choice of game systems. It seemed that many of the games were bent on gambling, like primers for children to become gamblers. Thankfully Rosie and Carmellina were only interested in climbing through the aerial tunnels, but I think we won't be going back for a long while...if ever. :(


On the way back to my parents' house a snow storm began, which ended Saturday morning leaving four more inches of snow on top of what was already there! Once again my bro took his nieces outside and played away the morning, with Rosie stopping to help Dad shovel.


It was hard to leave, but we finally pulled out around 2:30. The drive would not have gone well if it hadn't been for Rosemary! Baby Joey was awake for the first fourty-five minutes and started to get very unhappy. I was able to pull over and move Rosemary's seat up next to the baby so she could take care of him as we drove. She did great! And when Carmellina woke up, she helped too, peek-a-booing around the seat. What great sisters! What a relief to have little helpers like them!

Can you believe the trip wasn't over? We stopped at my cousin's house on the way home to meet her new baby Brianna Lynn. What a sweet baby! The girls played with their other cousin, Hailey, and baby Joey ate a whole container of bananas...uh-oh. Not long after we were on our way home, eager to be in our own beds.

The girls went to sleep cheerfully, snuggled in and sleepy. I waited up for Joe and felt, at his homecoming, home when I heard his voice in our house. For all the fun of traveling, it was good to be together at the end of the journey.