The latest on my trip

I started class yesterday and it went well. The building they are in is fantastic. The people are very friendly. I met some nice people in class. 2 of the people in my class are staying at my hotel and sit next to me in class. They asked me if I was interested in going with them to The Plaza after class yesterday and I went. It took about 20 minutes to get there. The Plaza is an upscale outdoor shopping area with great restaurants. We ate at a pub type restaurant that reminded me of Tumulty's and Bennegins from home. I had a Peanut Butter Chicken Salad - it was delicious. After dinner we walked around and checked out some shops. Then we headed home. I was on the computer most of the night and watched some TV. I did not sleep well for the 2nd night in a row, so this morning I was very tired. But, I got myself up and ready so I could get to the company for a tour of the building. This place was incredible - I'll tell you more about it when I get home. Class went well again, I knew most of everything they went over. After class, I came back to my room to unwind and make some phone calls. Then I headed over to a near by Target. I bought David some surprises and got some things for myself. I ordered a burrito from a near by Mexican restaurant and brought it back to my room. It was pretty good, but I have had better. Now I am just watching TV and reading some magazines. I really can't wait to get home, I miss David and Steve like crazy. Oh, I almost forgot...
DAVID IS GOING ON THE POTTY!
He still wears a diaper at night, but otherwise, he is doing GREAT! I am just so upset that I missed it. I can't believe he is so grown up already! I hope my Mom is taking pictures...

Toto too!

I have arrived in Kansas! The flight I took was on a small plane and it was 3 hours long. I then drove 40 minutes from the airport to my hotel. The hotel is great so far and I got myself a delicious dinner from a local brew pub. I watched the SAG awards and surfed the web. I am going to hit the hay so I can be ready for my class tomorrow. I'll post again soon.

P.S. Thanks to Laney and Mommyblogr for getting my and Mike's pix on our profiles!

I promised...

I was paid surprise visit last night by Laney. I was so happy to see her! We only got to spend a few minutes together because I had a kitchen full of scrappers but it was a great few minutes. She is a beautiful person and I am going to miss her when she moves. I am just glad that I will get to catch up with her through her blogs. So, my promise to her was to update my blog. I like to keep promises, so here I am.

My new job is going very well. I love the product that I am supporting and my new boss is wonderful. I will be leaving for Kansas on Sunday for training and I am nervous, but I am looking forward to learning more about ImageNow. I will fill you in next week while I am sitting in my hotel room missing my Men.

My parents are coming home tomorrow from their month long trip to FL. I know that had a lot of fun, but I think they are looking forward to coming home to see David. While they were gone, they stayed with my sister mostly, but did take trips to South Beach, St. Augustine and Orlando. When they were in St. Augustine, they had dinner with my in-laws and had a great time. I really missed them and so did David. I won't really get to catch up with them until I return from KS, but it will be nice for them to have David all to themselves while I am gone.

On January 17, 2006, the mother of my cousin Mar's husband Frank passed away. It was a horrible shock and my heart aches for the entire family. She was a wonderful woman that loved her family dearly and received that love right back. My sister was close to her and was very upset that she was unable to be here for the services. She is coming home Monday to lend her support for a few days. May God Bless them.

Hug and kiss your loved ones and let them know how you feel. The only person who knows how long we are here on Earth is God, so if you live everyday as it is your last, you will never had any regrets.

Now, I need to start following my own advise!

Jen, David and Mark 

Thanks Aunt Kathy! 

David, Mike & Laura-Ann 

Should we stay or should we go?

I have been debating in my head for a while now, whether or not we should add on to our house or look for something bigger. I finally decided to open up the flood gates and talk to Steve about it. Believe it or not, we were on the same page. We agree that we need more room but neither of us are sure how to get it. We really love our home and we have put A LOT of hard work into it, but at the same time, if we could purchase something larger with a few of the things (fireplace, garage) that we are lacking and not raise our mortgage payment a whole bunch we'd really think about moving. We also agree that we'd want to move to a town that has everything ours has including great schools and nice people. So we've chosen Freehold and the surrounding areas as possibilities. As of today, no decisions have been made. We want to speak to someone that knows a lot more than we do about real estate and mull it over some more. I am also going to talk to our contractor and see what the damage would be to do the things that I have in mind here at our house. If you have any suggestions, please leave us a comment. Otherwise, stay tuned!

Playing video games in his new chair 

Fingerpainting 

Happy 33rd Birthday Steve! 

Doctor Appointments

David and I both had doctor appointments this week. I had my yearly OB/GYN checkup (4 months late) and David had his 2 1/2 year check up. Both of our visits went well and we are both healthy. David's visit was a lot more fun than mine and Steve and I enjoyed watching him react to the Nurse. He was so excited to get weighed (unlike his mother) and thought getting his height checked was a game. He was showing off left and right and even developed a special trick to show her. Everything she asked him to do he did with a smile. We were cracking up. She said he was great. We think so too!

Sangria sure is good...

I would like to begin this post by congratulating my cousin Laura-Ann on obtaining her Master's Degree - CONGRATULATIONS! She worked very hard and missed a few NJ summers to get it and I am extremely proud of her. Her parents are also proud and so they gave her a kick-butt party this past Saturday at Ria Mar in South River. Although David was invited, we decided to call Megan, our trusty babysitter, into action. Steve and I had a great time. The party was a blast. I drank WAY too much Sangria and danced for hours. I can honestly say that I have not had that much fun in a while. The food was delicious too, but I was really into the Sangria. They hired the same DJ that was at their engagement party and he was awesome. He played all the songs I love and apparently all the songs Mike, Laura-Ann, Jill, Joe, LeAnne and Katie love as well. Most of us were on the dance floor for the entire party. I have to admit, we are some crazy dancers. Steve made a few dance floor appearances - twice he did the WORM! He is paying for it now with bruised knees, just as I paid for all the Sangria I drank on Sunday. I woke up on Sunday morning needing to go pee-pee only to find that my head was THROBBING. I took Tylenol and went back to bed. Our phone rang at 10 am and woke me up - still with a headache. Joe was on the phone asking Steve to pop over to their new place for some help. Sunday was Steve's 33rd birthday, so when David woke up we did the gift thing and then we drove over to Jill & Joe's. I asked Steve to please make a stop at D&D so I could get some hot chocolate and a croissant which he did. I was so excited to see Jill & Joe's place and it was adorable. Very pink, but adorable none the less. I chatted with Jill while the boys fixed some leaks and then we headed home to get ready for the Giants game. Well, I almost did not make it home. My head was still throbbing and now I was nauseous. We had to drive home with the windows down. I made it home without getting sick - thank goodness. I took more tylenol and hit the A&P for chili making supplies and appetizers. My cousins came over for the games and to spend time with the birthday boy/man. We ate all day and had my chili for dinner. At 7 pm, my grandparents and aunts came over to join us all for cake. Steve got some real nice gifts and had a real nice birthday (except for the Giants debacle). Overall another great weekend.

Happy New Year!

Sorry it is almost a week late, but I mean it all the same. My parents left for FL on New Year's Day, so we were lucky enough to grab them to babysit for about 1 1/2 hours on New Year's Eve. Steve and I ducked out to dinner at Covello's - one of our favorite restaurants. We made a 5 pm reservation at their new establishment. They used to be located in Sayreville on Washington Ave in a small bar/restaurant. They moved to Rt. 35 N in Sayreville to a great building. It is a little bigger then the last one, has a nice bar (that they own) and is like being in Italy. Our food was delicious as always and the waitress was great. We have had her before and it was nice to see she still works there. After dinner we headed home to relieve the parents so they could get to there New Year's Eve celebration at the Breaker's. They had not expected to be home, so it was nice that my Aunt and Uncle invited them to join them for dinner at a place they love. The rest of our evening was pretty uneventful. We watched TV and went to bed right after the ball dropped. I know - sounds like a real kick butt time. It was nice to get out to dinner with the hubby. We don't do that as often as we should. Maybe that can be our joint New Year's resolution.