Parent Teacher Conference

This morning I attended David's Spring Parent Teacher conference. I was unable to attend his fall one, so his teacher and I did a phone one. I felt so out of touch that I knew I needed to attend the Spring one in person. I am SO glad I did. His teacher was very sweet and had nothing but nice things to say about David. He has improved so much since the fall. His areas that still need work are penmenship and coloring. Those came as no surprise to me. He NEVER wants to color and I can tell his handwriting is bad. My Mom and I both work with him on it, but like any kid...it's not what he wants to be doing at ANY time. The teacher did mention that he and Patrick often act silly, but not disruptive. I am glad he and Patrick are friends. He is a sweet boy and has very nice parents. As we were finishing up, I asked if I could come in and do a scrapbooking project with the kids and she was thrilled. I am going in to the class in late April and we're going to create a Mother's Day project! I can not wait! I knew I would be happy I attended in person.

Great movie

Over the weekend I watched 2 movies. That is VERY rare for me - I either do not have the time or the patience. I recently signed up for Netflix - which I was surprised I did. I know a few people that use it and love it, so I thought I'd try it. It sounded easy to use and there are many movies that I want to see. The first movie we got was Bourne Ultimatum. I LOVED it. It was SO good and entertaining. I am not a huge Matt Damon fan, but he is fantastic in these movies. I highly recommend it. I also watched Hannibal Rising. Steve bought it for me for Christmas. The movie was good, but the book was MUCH better and informative. I thought the movie was too short and if you did not read the book - you would have been lost - like Steve was. The 'Hannibal' books and movies are my VERY favorite storyline - but I was a little disappointed in Hannibal Rising the movie.

Happy St. Pat's!

I hope you enjoy this day o' green! I like this holiday much better when it is on the weekend. I do not eat corned beef or cabbage, but I do like having a cocktail or two! I am WAY past the stage of getting drunk during the week, so I guess having 1 wine cooler before bed will be my St. Pat's Day celebration - WOO HOO!!

An early Easter

Yes, Easter is VERY early as it is this year, but we celebrated even earlier. We spent the weekend with Tracey, Rich and the kids in PA and did our Easter thing this morning. Rich made reservations at Brickside Grill for brunch. The food there is VERY good. They made omeletes and pancakes to order and there are tons of other things on the buffet. I had a crab, tomato, cheese and bacon omelete and plain pancakes. Not to mention sausage, hash browns and LOTS of sweet treats. Ava sure enjoyed the sausage. I think she had 3 links! After brunch we went back to their house. I had bought the kids scrapbook kits for Xmas and Ty really wanted my help getting started. This was the perfect afternoon to do that. He picked out the photos he wanted to use and I helped him decorate his pages. We brainstormed to come up with his journaling. He did a really cool job. He did half the book before I left. I am looking forward to seeing the final result.

Happy Scrappin'!

Today I held my National Scrapbooking Event from 9 to 5 in my home. I did not have a ton of people, but I did have GREAT people. All the scrappers that attended did very well - I think a total of 40 pages got completed. I gave away 3 exclusive CM prizes. Lunch was delicious - although my poor Mom had to take a trip back to Panera Bread for the missing pickles and cookies. Thanks Mom! It was a very nice day. I am looking forward to the next one.

Vitamins? Really?

Yesterday was my check up appointment with the Neurologist. Now, back in the beginning of February at my first appointment, he switched me from Topamax to Depakote and fore-warned me that a side effect is weight gain. I did not like hearing that, but thought, I'll just eat right and exercise. YEAH RIGHT! I learned that my FAT ASS gained 7 lbs in 5 weeks! OH MY GOD! I am not going to pretend that I had no idea...I mean my pants are SO tight I am surprised I have not split them or popped a button. I just did not think my appetite had changed that much. The good news is he has taken me off the Depakote and put me on a vitamin regimen. Yes, that is right - vitamins. Now - if you know me - you know that I do not eat veggies and do not take vitamins. So, this a a very new concept for me. I hope they do not taste bad, because this regimen will stop immediately. I ordered the vitamins I need from vitacost.com - they were VERY reasonably priced. Especially the CoQ10. That is so damn expensive! I will stop the Depakote and start the vitamin once I get them in the mail. Wish me luck!

Small amount of blog hopping

I so wanted to do more, but I only got to read a few new blogs last night. The ones I read were very cute and interesting. There are SO many great prizes to be one during this party - WOW! I entered one last night for a framed photo. So cool. My plan is to read a little more tonight. Now let's just see if the rest of the house allows this to occur.

We're in the money! Well, not really, but we did get our federal rebate today. I paid the State their damn money (not happy about that as you can tell). I also paid off our new kitchen furniture from Crate and Barrel and most of my Gap card. I kept a few dollars in the checking account so we are not completely broke ;)

Wanna party?

I am a tad late, but I have decided to PARTY! There is a Blog Party going on and you are invited. 5 minutes for Mom is hosting this party and it looks like a lot of fun. If you've landed here from the party, allow me to introduce myself and family.
I am a working mother of 2 - Ava, 16 months and David, 4 years. I am married to a fabulous man, Steve and we'll celebrate our 9th wedding Anniversary on 3/27. We live in central NJ, but are rarely at home. My Mom takes care of my tots while I am out making some dough. I am a program analyst from 8 am to 4 pm, M-F. I am also a Creative Memories consultant which obviously means I love t0 scrap and take photos. We are a HUGE sports family with our favorites being the NY Yankees and the Superbowl Champion NY Giants. We also follow Rutgers University college sports. I began blogging after my cousin Mike started. I thought it was a great way to keep my huge family up to date on the goings on in our lives. I have made a few friends here in blogland and I do enjoy reading about the lives of others. Especially those from outside the NY/NJ area.
Hope you enjoy the party!

Pile on more guilt

I have been a working Mother since September of 2003. I am very lucky to have my Mom take care of the kids while I am at work. As most of you already know, I still have TONS of guilt about being a working Mom. There are days when I feel less guilty than others, but over all I feel like crap. Well, just the other night, my darling 4 year old son says the following during dinner:
"Mommy, I want you to be home all the time and not work."
UGH! My verbal response was something like "Mommy has to work so we can have nice things and do fun things, blah, blah, blah." Inside I was DYING! I was screaming "Mommy does not WANT to work. Mommy WANTS to be home taking care of you and Ava - doing all the FUN things that she misses out on." I knew that I could not tell him this, however sometimes I wish I could. Just so he knows that I'd rather be with him and Ava than at work. Hopefully, deep down he already knows. This September when he starts kindergarten - gasp - he'll probably miss me less. However, I'll still feel like crap.

Cleaning lady

I could SO use one. Not a one time service like I had in November (bad experience) but someone that comes every 2 weeks and does a REALLY good job. I spent 2 hours when I got home today cleaning our second floor and that does not include dusting the kids rooms! I'll have to do that tomorrow. There was SO much dust in our bedroom I could have had an asthma attack and I don't have asthma. When I clean the house for company I sometimes avoid the upstairs (aside from the bathroom and vacuuming) because I know no one is going to go up there. BUT, if I had a little cleaning lady - it would be nice and shiny every 2 weeks! I think once we stop paying for David's pre-school, I'll check into it.

By the way, Ava is 16 months old today!!!

Losing my mind

I am embarrased to write this post...but I need to admit my mistakes. My brother in law Rich turned 40 on Friday and my cousin Laura-Ann turned 30 on Sunday and I did not place a phone call to either one on their big day ;( I do not know where my mind has gone. When I was in KS on my trip (and alone) I remembered their special days and picked up cards. I even wrote them out and mailed them from KS so they'd arrive on time. You think I could remember to actually phone them! I know that excuses are no good, but I was crazy all day Friday and all night. It was my first day back in the office after my trip and we had 9 people over for our fantasy draft that night. The rest of our weekend was busy too and Ava has been giving me a run for my money. I literally can get NOTHING done when she is around - no joke. I have stopped trying. But, like I said, there is no good excuse. I apologize to both and hope they had great birthdays.

What time is it?

I had forgotten all about the time change when I woke up the morning. The cable boxes said one thing and all the other clocks were an hour behind. Then it hit me - DUH! So I went around setting the clocks. I let Steve sleep in because he worked all day on Saturday and I took the kids downstairs. I decided to make some pancakes. While I was cooking, Steve's phone rang and it was Walt. He needed help on a job so I ran the phone up to Steve. When Steve came down to tell me he was going to help Walt at 1 pm - he was thrilled to see I had made breakfast. I even got a little crafty and made the kids pancakes in the shape of Mickey heads! I was impressed, but David was not. He had 2 bites and walked away - brat (he lost his Wii privs)! Ava ate like a champ - as usual. The pancakes were good - if I do say so myself. After cleaning up I was going to take a shower, but Steve needed me to trim his hair and I wanted to give David a hair cut. Steve was easy - David was a pain in the ass. All he did was squirm and cry. I thought I was going to strangle him with the cord from the buzzer! After it was all over - he looked so cute (lucky for him). We went up and showered. By then it was time for Steve to leave and help Walt. The WHOLE time Steve was gone Ava was impossible. She had many a melt down. Finally, I took the kids down the basement to play. That lasted about an hour before they were bored to tears. So back up stairs we went to wait for Steve. Luckily it was not too much longer. Ava needed a nap SO bad but would NOT go down. We decided to go for a ride. We packed into the car with no real destination at first. Then Steve decided to take us to dinner with the money he made from Walt. We ate at Luchiano's Country Italian Kitchen. It was delicious and the kids were VERY good. David ate his whole meatball and Ava loved the pasta. Steve and I enjoyed our dishes as well. In fact, Steve took home David's linguini and a piece of his chicken parm for lunch tomorrow. We took the scenic route back home. When we got home, I laid down for about 45 minutes - I was exhausted. Then it was time to get the kids ready for bed. By 7:30 pm Ava was ready for bed. I gave her a bottle and put her down. The minute I walked out of the room she started crying. Then the crying became screaming. As I write to you she is STILL up there screaming her head off. I did go up there once - gave her Tylenol, rubbed her back and got her calm. She was good for about 10 minutes. I am at my witts end...

Never enough time

The weekends are never for relaxing anymore. Waking up this morning was tough and my baby girl gave me a much needed break. I heard her at about 8, but she did not really get up until 9 - woo hoo. I SO needed that extra time...I had 3 too many wine coolers last night. My head was pounding. After popping some Tylenol, changing & dressing Ava and helping David get dressed - I HAD to eat. Steve was kind enough to have run to McDonald's for my greasy breakfast. When I looked at the clock, I almost had a heart attack! It was after 10 am and I had a bridal shower to attend at noon. I quickly scarfed down my food and ran up to get ready. I wanted to be on time to the shower because I could not stay long. Steve was called into work and had to be there by 2:30 pm. This meant that I had to leave the shower no later than 1:30 pm. I did not want to miss the shower all together, so I went for an hour and a 1/2. I was so happy I went too - not only to celebrate Agi's impending wedding - but because my friend Michelle and her Mom were there. I have not seen or spoken to Michelle since Sept. of 06. We fell out of touch and she felt embarrased to call after so long. I re-assured her that it did not matter and we caught up a little bit. Agi was SO surprised and happy with her shower. She looked great too. I explained to her my situation and wished her well before leaving. When I got home Ava was up from her nap and Steve was out the door. I made the kids some lunch and when the rain finally stopped I took them to the mall to keep them from going crazy in the house. When I had enough of the mall and wanted to go home...the skies opened up! I could not get out of my car to go in the house it was raining that hard. David wanted to see my Mom, so I called her to see what her and my Dad were doing for dinner. We decided to meet at Charlie Brown's in Matawan. You should have seen the rain and wind during my ride to the restaurant. Holy crap! It was SO bad. I thought I was in a hurricane. The kids fell asleep on the ride so when I got to the restaurant, I sat in my car for about 25 minutes. Once the rain stopped I grabbed both kids and the diaper bag and made a run for it. By the time we sat for dinner, Ava was miserable. The food was good, but I was on edge with Ava. When we got home it was late. She is usually in bed by 7:30 and it was 9 pm! I gave her a bottle and she went right to sleep. Before long, Steve was home from work - thank God. It was LONG day.

Draft night

Steve and I will be hosting our Fantasy Baseball draft tonight and I am NOT ready. The house needs to be cleaned - especially after my absense this week. My kind Mother said she would do what she could (she is so great) but I told her not to kill herself doing it. Aside from Steve printing out a few player listings, I have not done any research either. I know my first pick will be a pitcher, but I am not even sure which one. UGH! If you would like to read an amusing post about our league you can visit my Cousin Mike. He is in AZ now, so we'll be logging him in via my laptop so he can hear the goings on.
Wish me luck!

Rise and shine - you're on!

I did not need an alarm clock to get up this morning. Ava was my alarm clock. I planned a work at home day and was very glad that I did not have to get up at 6 am. See, the 3 night in KS, I did not sleep. I am not fond of sleeping in a hotel by myself in the middle of no where. Even when Ava woke me up, I was tired and it was close to 8 am. It was however, a good thing she woke me when she did. I needed to start working! My day went well and I even got to take the kids to McDonald's for lunch. Tomorrow it's back to the old routine. :sigh: How I wish I was a stay at home Mom...

Flight Status: CANCELLED!

WHAT? Yeah, that is what I saw this afternoon when I went to http://www.continental.com/ and checked my flight. I was SUPER pissed and scared. I wanted/needed to be home tonight. On a break from my training class I called the airline and was informed that they had re-booked me on a flight leaving tomorrow (Thurs) morning. I was like 'oh no you did not!'. I told her that I knew there was a flight leaving before mine and I wanted to be on that one. She was able to get me a seat, but informed me that it was already delayed. I actually knew this, because I had been online checking EVERY flight back to NY/NJ. I told her I did not care and that I was thankful she got me a seat on the 5:20 pm CST flight that was delayed until 7:52 pm CST. I decided to check on the flight one more time before I left for the airport (hoping it was not cancelled) and it was not cancelled but moved up to 6:38 pm CST! I was excited, but wanted to get my butt to the airport ASAP. I left Perceptive Software at 3 pm CST, got to the airport, dropped off my rental car, checked my bag and was eating a bagel at 4:30 pm CST when our flight was moved up for a 5:38 pm CST departure! WOO HOO!!! I did not call home until I was sitting in my seat and they were ready to close the doors. I told Steve we were taking off and to check my flight status online. He was glad I was on my way home. I hung up, opened a book and read for a while. I got bored and put on my MP3 player. The next thing I knew, we were landing! My 3 hour flight took all of 2 hrs and 8 min! I called Steve to let him know we landed and were taxiing and he was like WHAT? He had not left EB yet! This was the weirdest part...when I got to baggage claim, my bag was there! If you have EVER landed in Newark, you know that it takes FOREVER to get your bags. Not tonight, not for me. I went out to the curb to wait for my ride. Steve and the kids showed and I jumped in the car. I could not wait to see the kids! They were so excited to see me - which felt awesome. Steve was very happy to see me too. He even picked up a hot chocolate from Dunkin for me! I was SO happy to be home.

Still in KS

Today's training class went well. There were a number of things I wanted to 'see' and 'do' with the new software and we touched on that today. When I was leaving the building I snapped a few photos:

Steve had an important job after work. He needed to sign David up for Kindergarten! I had left all the documentation I had and my Mom picked up the immunization records this afternoon. When I called to check in, Steve and the kids were at the school waiting their turn. I just spoke to him and everything went well. I so wish I could have been there. :sigh:

One more class and I get to head to the airport. If I get there early enough, I am going to see about taking the earlier flight :)

Steve is in charge

Being in KS, I have left Steve in charge of the Boettger household. I've spoken to him a few times and everything is going well. He stayed home today to play Mr. Mom. It's nice to know that I can count of him to take care of the kids and that he wanted to be home with them today. He took David to and from school and had my Grandparents over for lunch. Even though he is making it through without me, I wish I was home. Class did go well today - I learned a few things I was hoping I would. Tonight I am meeting our sales rep for dinner in Kansas City, MO. The menu looks good...I'll let you know how it goes.

UPDATE: Dinner was good. Very nice restaurant and very tasty food. I had lobster bisque and lobster risoto. The girls were very nice and we had a good time. Still wish I was home snuggling my hubby and kiddies.

Toto says Hi

Ok, not really, but I am in Kansas. Why you ask? To attend a training class for the document management software I implement. My trip here sucked. The flight was delayed, I sat next to a smelly man, the flight took longer than expected due to a thunderstorm, my 45 minute drive was in the pouring rain and I would much rather be home snuggling with the kids and Steve. When I finally arrived at the hotel, I was STARVING. Luckily there is a local restaurant that delivers and I got some dinner. We're getting a storm all night and it will likely snow. Class starts at 9 am (CST) so I better get some rest. I'll post tomorrow after I get back.

Feelin Down

I wish today had gone a bit differently. I was grumpy and took things to heart. Due to this, I gave Steve a hard time. It got better later in the day and we met up with Laurie and Tom for dinner at Carraba's. My issue: not feeling that I am thought of. When it comes to Steve, David and Ava I always put them 1st. In other words, if Steve was out of coffee or half and half, I would be sure to pick that up if I was out. Steve and David went out twice Saturday morning and neither time came back with tea or hot cocoa for me. Sounds dumb, but it proves my point...I am not a thought. Like I said, I ended up getting over it - basically by just telling myself that he is just not that type of guy. But that does not mean I did not point out to him what he could have done ;)