Our Trip To CT

Everything went really well. Easy flights in and out of Providence. I know my way around Southeastern CT now, that is for sure. Bob was able to spend about 3 hours at Pfizer and got to meet and talk with a bunch of different people. So, that was good for him. Friday night we ate in Mystic, CT at the Riverwalk Cafe and then we ate at Azu's for breakfast in Mystic. While Bob was at Pfizer on Friday afternoon, I just drove around the areas that we thought we would want to look into. I was trying to get my bearings on the place.

On Saturday, we got up ate breakfast and then headed around the different areas. I showed Bob all of the places that I had been the day before - We had also bought a detailed Map of Eastern CT the night before which helped tremendously. Outside of the major cities, the countryside is beautiful. There are a lot of trees, boulders, and streams. The shore is beautiful as well. There are a lot of rivers, streams, and ponds around the area too.

After driving around and lunch, we met up with a realtor to see a few houses. We spent 3 hours with Janet, getting the lay of the land even more and seeing some nice houses. I think we definitely have a good idea of what is available in the areas that we are looking. We then met up with our friends Kim & Patrick for dinner at Paul's Pasta in Groton. It is a VERY small, Rachael Ray type of place - a VERY local type place. They make fresh pasta every day. We had to wait a little bit - because there were only about 15 tables in the whole place. But it was REALLY good. I had a small eggplant parmesean and couldn't finish it all. I also had the fried chocolate chip cookie dough sundae - now that, was good. After dinner, it was back to the hotel to crash.

On Sunday we decided that we would see if there were any open houses that we wanted to go to. We got the paper and there were VERY few. We drove by the 2 that were possibilities and decided that we didn't need to go to them. We drove around a little more and decided to head up to Boston for lunch/dinner in the north end. We went up through the eastern part of CT just to see what it was like. Very hilly and rural. We saw some of the only farms during our trip up there. We came into Boston via the south side and went in the tunnel - I wasn't quite sure what to expect with the big dig and everything, but we ended up missing the city and coming out by Bunker Hill, so we headed up toward 128 and looped back around. I took Bob through Lexington and into Cambridge. It took me a little bit to get my bearing, but once I hit the Charles River, I knew where I was going. I gave Bob a mini tour of the city, hitting Harvard Sq, up to Back Bay around the Commons by the Theater district toward the Government plaza around Faneuil Hall to the North End. I didn't realize that you couldn't park in the North End anymore - shows you how long it has been since I have been there. So, we headed toward Faneuil Hall and parked in the structure and walked over. We ate at the Florentine Cafe. It was good, but not the best I have had in the North End. Bob thought it was wonderful - so that is good. We then headed across the street to Mike's Pastry but once we got in line and it wasn't moving, we decided to head out - I was getting impatient. So, we tried another bakery - too crowded - so we ended up at Lulu's Bakery - very cute, very small bakery. We got chocolate covered cannoli's, a chocolate cheesecake and rugelach to go. We then did a loop through Faneuil Hall and headed back to the car. We then headed south through the city to the highway and back to Providence/Warwick RI to stay the night near the hotel for our early flight back to DTW. We tried to see if there were any other flights back to DTW that night, but there weren't. So, we had to stay.

We kicked back in the hotel room, ate our treats from Lulu's and then went to sleep so that we could make our flight back home.

It was great to see the girls when we got home. We missed them A LOT!! It was good to be home.

Both Bob and I are glad that we took the trip. It definitely gave us some things to think about. The land is really pretty there and the people seem very friendly.

We have a huge decision to make and hopefully, we will get some more information soon to help us with making that decision.

The best news would be if we won the Mega Millions tonight - 150 Million. You have to play to win and believe me, I'm playing.

O Girls

I have had the camera out on several occassions, but haven't always been able to capture the girls in the adorable poses that I am blessed to see almost every day.

Here are some recent pics of the girls.

This is Celie, gazed and totally absorbed by watching Elmo DVDs during her recovery from surgery.


Here is a picture of Anna, recently awakening from a nap. She is such a happy little girl. I am soooooooooo lucky.

What Are We Going to Do Now?

I have to admit that we are very blessed to have such caring friends and family that have inquired about our status since the Pfizer announcement.

We are still in limbo. We have come up with 5 different pathways to our future. One is to relocate with Pfizer to Groton, CT - hopefully. One is for me to find a job and Bob stay home with the girls. One is for Bob to go back to school, me back to work, and find child care for the girls. One is for Bob to work for another pharma company. One is for Bob to try to find a job in BioTech or Research at the U. All of these scenarios have their +'s and -'s. We have not made up our mind either way.

However, Bob and I thought that it would be a good idea to go to Groton, CT to check it out. I have been doing some research online and with the help of some friends been able to find some good information. We are going on our own dime and time, but we feel that it is the only way for us to know if relocation is even a possibility. I have lived in New England, but Bob has never lived outside of OH or MI, so it really is for him to see what it is all about. If we hate the area and such, then one path will be taken off the list. But we won't know unless we go and check it out. I think it is a small investment for our future. The girls will stay at home with Aunt Sarah and Grandma O tag teaming the effort. So, it will be a chance for Bob and I to be alone for the first time since Celie has been born. What a mini vacation!! CT in the winter. Yeah!!! Ah, that is being typed with sarcasm. I wouldn't mind the idea so much if we weren't having single digit highs around here.

Our spirits are positive and every day Bob learns more things. We are taking this one day at a time and remaining to keep a positive outlook for our future.

We will keep everyone posted with our ideas and such. And thank you to everyone you has emailed or called with your concern. You do not know how much it means to us to have support right now. Thank you!

Celie's Surgery Update

Celie's surgery took about 1 hour for them to complete. When we met her in the post-op area, she was still a little droggy, but seemed happy to see us. We asked the Dr if it was o.k. for her to crawl, roll around, etc. He said yes. He said that they just didn't walking for a month. Yeah, we laughed again.

Once we got Celie home, we decided to try to help her pain with just regular over the counter medication instead of getting the prescriptions filled that had made her ill in the past. We got home in time for some lunch, medicine and a nap. She slept for 4 hours.

That evening we decided to move everything in her room. We set up a TV with a portable DVD player and cable. We gave into the requests of Elmo. We set up all of her different activities on the dining room table so that we could easily switch activities, yet wouldn't clog up her room or her bed.

We have done pretty well keeping her off of her legs. We go for our 2 week follow up tomorrow. Originally, the Dr. had said to keep her off of it for 1 month, but wink, wink, parents have had their children walking by the 2 week visit. Well, she just started walking on it today. I don't think that there is any holding her back now. However, we will be taking the TV back and putting it back downstairs.

Hopefully, her 6 month follow up will be very favorable and we will not have to go through this procedure again.

Anna Update

Anna had her 4 month check up recently. She passed with flying colors and is definitely making up ground. I thought that she was going to be my "normal" sized child, but she is proving me wrong. She is in the 95% for height and 50% for weight. I think she may be the tall scrawny one in the family.

She is smiling, gurgling, and laughing. She is a delightfully happy little girl 98% of the time. Celie likes to talk to her at the dinner table. It is quite comical.

New Format

The Ostroski Observer has long been written in the tradition of a "newspaper." Stories being told in the third person and such. Well, it has been decided to mix things up a bit and change to the first person. Hopefully, those that are faithful to the Ostroski Observer will not mind the slight change. If you don't like the new format, please let us know and the editorial staff will take it under review.

Thanks,
Kelly