For Jersey Girl

Hi Mrs. Laffey! This one is for you...

Things I plan (Lord willing) to do before I die:
1. See David grow up healthy and happy
2. Travel with my husband and son
3. Finish scrapbooking
4. Learn to Golf
5. Live at the beach

5 Things I can do:
1. Teach scrapbooking
2. Be a friend
3. Give advice
4. Work hard & long
5. Shop

5 Things I cannot do (yet):
1. Speak another language
2. Work slow
3. Give up
4. Be quiet
5. Be around birds

5 Things that attract me to the opposite sex:
1. Sense of Humor
2. Honesty
3. Sincerity
4. Realness
5. Strong hands

5 Things I say most often:
1. I love you
2. David!
3. Hi Babe
4. I hate this job (when I am at work)
5. Thanks.

5 Celebrity crushes:
1. Jon Bon Jovi
2. Tino Martinez
3. Steve Burton
4. Michael Madsen
5. Tommy Lee (my bad boy)

5 People I want to do this:
1. Tracey
2. Amy
3. Derrick
4. Laurie (ditto on this from Laney & Mom, fix the computer already!!!)
5. Mike

Football, Traffic and Visitors

It's been a while since I've posted - work has been insane. Since I wrote last, we have gone to the Rutgers football game, I've sat in LOTS of aweful traffic and Steve's parents have come to visit. The Rutgers game was on a beautiful Saturday afternoon unlike last year when we were freezing and wet. The NERDS played the pre-game party and were terrific. David had a blast meeting the Scarlet Knight and playing in all the kids games. I did not have so much fun. Steve decided to park himself near the beer truck and left me to run after David. When it came game time, we piled into the stadium to sweat through the game. The game really was great - they won and made lots of nice plays, but it was HOT. I do not usually complain, but I was not expecting it, so I was not appropriately dressed. My parents, David and I watched the game and David was SO into it. He was yelling "tackle him" and "touchdown". Steve was no where to be found - probably not feeling too good. After the game we came back to our house for dinner and to watch more football. Overall the day was good. Ok, now for the traffic report. NJ must have the worst roads because everywhere you, go no matter what time, there is traffic. I spent most of my time last week in traffic on the NJ Turnpike and Rt. 280. Thursday was the topper - Theresa and I left Newark at 4:40 pm. I did not walk in my door until after 7 pm! The worst part was that we were smooth sailing until we hit exit 10. So from exit 10 to exit 9 we sat for 2 hours! It was aweful and poor Theresa was afraid she would run out of gas! We did not run out of gas - thank God - and we had each other to keep us sane, but we were not happy. Friday I worked from home and it was great. I woke up about 20 minutes before I started work and shuffled to the computer. While it was coming up, I made myself tea. My parents showed up to watch David and he woke up a little later. My day was going well but I had a lot of work to do. I took my shower on my lunch break. David went down for a long nap about 2/2:30 pm right before my in-laws came in. My parents chatted with them until I was done with work. After Steve got home, the 5 of us went to one of our favorite restaurants - Covella's in Sayreville. Our dinner was fantastic. On Saturday Steve worked and his parents went to visit friends, so David and I ran some errands. He was such a good boy. After he and I napped, we went to my Aunt Carol's for John's 22nd birthday. We all had a real nice time. Sunday Tracey and the kids came at 10 am and saw my in-laws off around noon. They stayed till 2:30 and headed to Medivel Times for a birthday party. Jill, Joe and Mike were over watching football. After everyone was gone, Steve and I made dinner and the 3 of us ate. I scrapped while watching the Tommy Lee goes to College finale and football. David wrestled with Steve and watched Mickey Mouse movies and then it was time for bed. I love going to bed - especially when I've had a crazy couple of days. I don't even remember falling asleep. This morning I sat in more traffic to come to work - I sure hope my rides home are better than last week!

Are You Ready for Some FOOTBALL?

YES I AM! Tonight kicks off the 2005/2006 NFL season and I could not be more excited. Even though it is a week night, we are having a Kick Off party. I stopped at Sam's to pick up appetizers and Steve is off to get the beer. I will be drinking soda, cause I do not like beer and do not want to wake up with a headache. I figured I would blog before our guests arrive. Not that many people are coming because most of my family are teachers and have started back to work this week. It does not matter, I'll be watching the Pats and the Raiders play the other greatest sport in the world and cheering for my fantasy quaterback, Kerry Collins. I can not wait!

My Little Man 

Back to Work

When I woke up this morning I was hit in the face with reality - vacation is officially over! I was MISERABLE, but I stumbled to the shower to get read for work. After I snuck into David's room to kiss him good-bye, I got in my car for the dreaded ride to Newark. The ride got better after I picked up my partner in hell, Theresa. I had not seen her in a while - she was on vacation and then I went away. We chatted our way up the turnpike. Once we got in the office we were innundated with work, so the day went by quickly. We could not wait to get out of there. We were back in EB before 5 pm. After making a return at the GAP, I was home. It is amazing that as soon as I see David's face - work does not even exist. I love that little guy. When he saw me he asked "Mommy, want to play Elmo Limbo with me?" How can I say no? So we limboed. Steve came home soon after and we all piled in our bed. David loves to jump and tackle us. I have to admit, we love it too. I cooked a great taco dinner and we all ate like kings. As I write this, David and Steve are getting ready for bed. Soon, I'll be reading a bedtime story and kissing David good-night. Did I mention that I love that little guy? Oh, yeah, I did.

Hershey Park 

Cape May Zoo 

Skee Ball 

30th Birthday Party 

A great week

Where should I begin? I guess I'll start with Saturday 8/27. My parents threw me a 30th birthday party at Gambino's restaurant in New Brunswick. My sister came up from FL and my sister, brother-in-law and the kids came from PA. Tracey, Rich and the kids stayed with us from Friday to Sunday. On Saturday, Tracey and I spray tanned each other & shopped for new outifts. I got my hair cut, colored and blown out. Then we were off to the party. There were 60 of my closest family and friends in attendance. Rich made a great playlist for the party on his I-Pod for entertainment. The food was fantastic and we all had a great time. Our babysitter Megan came and took care of David, Ally and Ty. I even hired a photographer - they took over 200 pictures. I can not wait to see them. After the party we came back to my house to party some more. Tracey and kids were exhausted and went to sleep. The rest of us just hung out having some beers (in my case wine coolers). Our friend Matt got to stop by after his shift (he's a cop in EB). I really enjoyed my big day. Sunday was all about recovering - I was not feeling my best. I did open my presents. I got some great stuff. Gift Certificates, Money & Jewelery. My sister gave me Tiffany earrings and my sister and brother-in-law gave me a Tiffany necklace. Monday we left for our vacation to Wildwood. We checked into our motel and decided to take a ride to Cape May. David fell asleep on the ride. We walked through the Cape May shops and got some italian ice. When we got back to our motel, we cleaned up and headed to dinner at the Lobster Shack. After dinner, we hit the boardwalk. David loved the rides - there were a lot for his size. My parents came down to visit on Tuesday. We were laying out by the pool when they arrived. David loved the pool. He even learned to jump off the side. Steve took David fishing at the bay, but he got tired so I walked him back and he fell asleep in the stroller. I got ready for dinner while he napped. We all went to The Crab House for dinner. It was delicious. After we ate, we took a walk to the dock so David could watch the boats. Then we headed to the boardwalk. There are 3 piers on the Wildwood boardwalk, so we went to a different one. This one had even more rides for David. He was even big enough to go on a roller coaster with Steve! I was a nervous nelly, but he did great. We went into one of the arcades so David could play skee-ball. While he was doing that, my Mom and I played video poker and she won 125 tokens! David was able to 'buy' a basketball and some other little prizes - he was SO happy. After my Dad had his Mack's Pizza, we headed back to the motel. My parents left and went to AC, we just went to sleep. Wednesday we had a delicious breakfast at Samuel's Pancake House then hung out by the pool. For lunch we went to Moore's Inlet. David was SO excited - Scoop & Muck were working on the beach! The food was good and Steve got a free pitcher of beer. We all took a nap when we got back to our room. When we woke up, we got ready and headed to Schellenger's for dinner. What a great place - great food and great atmosphere. We again hit the boardwalk after dinner. This time I took David on some rides. My favorite is the Big Slide so we went on that. After the rides, we went and got our picture taken at Old Time Portraits. It came out great! We stopped for ice cream on our way back to the motel. Thursday we checked out of the motel and headed to PA. On our way, we stopped at the Cape May Zoo. There is no fee, but you can give a donation. It is a great place. There are lots of animals and it is very clean. I am very glad we stopped. We arrived at Tracey & Rich's around 2 pm. No one was home yet, so I showered. When Tracey got home, we all walked down to the bus stop to pick up the kids. The kids were so excited we were there. It was Ally's birthday so after dinner, Tracey had some neighbors over for cake. We hit the sack early for the next days adventure. Friday we went to Hershey Park! All 7 of us packed in Tracey & Rich's Pilot for the ride. We had an awesome day. The park is HUGE! First we went through the tour and got free candy. Then we were off to the rides. The kids went on some of theirs first and then Tracey and Steve headed to the roller coasters and believe me, there are a lot to choose from. They also have lots of water rides. The park was not that crowded and the kids were well behaved. On the way home the kids fell alseep and the adults sang. It was one of the best days I've ever had. We left PA Saturday morning and headed home. When we got home, Zach was SO happy to see us. The floor was full of dog hair, but everything else was great. Megan had been letting him out and feeding him - she is wonderful. Steve cleaned the floor and I started the laundry. We just relaxed and enjoyed being home. Vacations are great, but nothing beats your own home. More about this weekend to come...