An overnight guest

Last week Steve got a call from our brother-in-law Rich in PA. He asked if he could stay at our house tonight because he has a meeting in Secaucus tomorrow morning. Steve told him that he is always welcome. So tonight Rich arrived about 5:30 pm. After a little while we went to Damon's on Rt. 9 for dinner. We had a really great meal and David was pretty well behaved. On our way home we got some ice cream at Magnifico's - delicious! When we got home it was time for pajamas and David had his bottle. David gave Uncle Rich kisses and headed off to bed. Steve, Rich and I are now enjoying the Yankee game but I do wish Tracey was here. It would be like old times - boy were they fun! We'll be spending this weekend in PA at Tracey & Rich's celebrating Tracey and Ty's birthday. I am really looking forward to it. I hope this work week goes by quickly!

The guys 

Watching the golfers 

David & Michelle 

The Hat Divas & David 

Happy Memorial Day

Steve and I hosted a Memorial Day BBQ today at our house. We kept the guest list to family only. I woke up bright and early to get a jump on cleaning the house and Steve started installing our front porch railings. I took a few breaks to feed David breakfast and lunch. My parents arrived around 2 pm and my Dad went to the A & P for our BBQ fare. David napped while I showered and our guests arrived around 3 pm. We had a beautiful day - not too hot, not too cold and plenty of sun. We ate plenty of appetizers - including Friggin Dip! Then we moved on to Hot Dogs, Hamburgers, Potato Salad, Macaroni Salad and Spinach salad (Aunt Judy made it - YUM!). After a while, Steve made coffee and out came the dessert. There was watermelon, cherry pie, chocolate cake, chocolate donuts and delicious brownies (Aunt Judy brought those). We had our new outdoor fireplace blazing in the evening when the air got cooler. I think everything went really nice. Everyone seemed to have a great time, and we missed all that could not attend. The day was extra special to me because my cousin John brought his girlfriend Michelle. John is more like a little brother to me than a cousin. He holds a special little place in my heart. I was SO excited to meet Michelle and she is awesome. She is absolutely adorable! She fit right in - like we knew her all our lives. The most important thing was how David took to her and he LOVES her. The reason I say that's important is because she is coming to my rescue and babysitting this week. My parents are leaving Tuesday for FL and I had no sitter. I asked John if Michelle would be interested and before ever meeting us, she was! She is fabulous. David loves her and so do I. I am so happy for John and for me! Just for the record, I have to admit, all my cousins have picked perfect partners. We all get along great and genuinely like each other. That is NOT easy to do, especially in a big family like mine. So here's a big Thank You to my family for being the best - I really am a lucky girl and love you all.

Not a good patient

All my life I have NEVER been a good patient (with the exception of giving birth to David). I do not like needles, blood, bodily fluids, x-rays, tests, etc. I don't even like medicine and ointments if they taste bad or sting when you apply them. My family knows this about me, especially my Aunt Mary. So luckily when I made my appointment for the endoscopy I had this past Wednesday, she called a friend of hers that is a nurse in the CARES building and asked her to take special care of me. Although that friend was off Wednesday, she made it known that I needed TLC - and I got it. I was still a nervous nelly, but the nurses that prepared me and were with me in recovery made me as comfortable as possible. Now, as for the procedure itself - well I was in a cold sweat until they knocked me unconscious. The room they put you in for the procedure is super small and extra cold. That is really all I can remember - oh yeah, except for the nasty spray they put on your throat and the anesthesiologist giving me some stuff in my IV. My husband Steve waited in the waiting room for me until he was called in to the recovery room to watch me wake up all whacked out! He was a good supporter & a big help. My doctor came in to tell me he did not see any signs of what they were looking for, so he sent some samples to pathology and will call me with the results - yahoo! Once I was awake enough, I walked out to our car and he drove us home. They offered me a wheelchair, but I felt good enough to walk out. When I got home my Mom and David were there to greet me. They were both so happy I was home. My Mom was worried because she knew I was worried - David just thought it was great I was home. He quickly caught on that I was not myself - it was cute. The rest of the day I felt horrible. My body went into shock from the anesthesia while I was napping and I woke up sweating and shaking. After that I was extremely weak so Steve made me eggs for dinner (that is what I wanted) and eventually I got up the strength to shower. I felt a tad better but could not wait to go to bed. When I woke up Thursday morning I felt more like myself again. I went into work, but I was very depressed. It was not until after lunch that I really felt back to normal. Today I am my old self again - thank goodness. So remember if you hear a screaming, crying voice in a doctors office or medical facility - it does not mean it is a child, it could be me!

My answers to Laney's ABC Meme

A is for Age - 29 (not for long, boo hoo)
B is for Booze - Banana Daquiri
C is for Career - Creative Memories Consultant & Analyst
D is for Dads name - David
E is for Essential items to bring to a party - Friggn' Dip
F is for Favorite song at the moment - Dirty Little Thing
H is for Hometown - North Brunswick NJ
I is for Instrument you play - Piano
J is for Jam or Jelly you like - Grape Jelly
K is for Kids - 1 boy
L is for Living arrangement - Own a home, Cape Cod
M is for Moms name - Patricia
N is for Names of best friend - Steve
O is for Overnight hospital stays - 3
P is for Phobias - Birds
Q is for Quote you like - Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.
R is for Relationship that lasted longest - Married for 6 years this past March
S is for Siblings - One sister
U is for Unique trait - I can scratch my throat (inside)
V if for Vegetable you love - hate all but corn
W is for Worst trait - Impatience
X is for XRays you have had - Teeth, arm, leg, back
Y is for Yummy food you make - Nene's chicken and lasagne
Z is for Zodiac sign - Virgo

Please answer these for yourself in a comments. I'd love to see your answers!

Completely Motivated

I attended my first Unit meeting at Melissa's house last night and I was completely inspired and motivated. She had great ideas and so did the other consultants. We even listened to a 'podium call' about getting your business off on the right track - that woman was great. She said some things that really hit me and I intend to use them. The first thing I am going to strive for is booking classes. That is the heart of this business. Teaching customers how to preserve their memories and safely store their photos is extremely important. Giving my customers one on one support will show them I truly care about them and what I do. I also decided to add a 'beginner' class to my monthly schedule. This way I will be able to invite potential customers to a class so they can learn and be inspired to share what they learned with their friends at their own class. I had already scheduled a monthly workshop for those customers that would like scheduled scrapping time. I also want my customers still in the power sorting phase to attend these workshops so they have scheduled time to sort. The biggest promise I made to myself was to offer the Creative Memories opportunity to anyone and everyone I come in contact with. As I have been told, you never know where your next customer will come from. I have a lot more ideas in my little brain that I am working on and I am completely motivated to put them into action. Wish me luck!

Daddy as Marty 

Finally, Relaxation

What a relaxing day we had. We started off at Denny's for breakfast - I am a huge breakfast person. It was OK, I've had better, but they are giving away Madagascar masks. Then we came back home and did NOTHING! David and Steve worked outside a little and I caught up on paperwork. After I gave David lunch, he went down for a nap so I scrapped and watched the Yanks beat the Mets (YAHOO!). When David woke up, we played. Steve and David made dinner while I showered and then we ate. The pasta and meatballs were delicious. After dinner we danced and sang to Shrek and Disney music. David loves when I dance and sing - go figure! We just put on our PJ's and David will be going to bed soon. Steve and I are looking forward to the Contender. I love days like today!

Mommy Scrapping 

Christine & Michelle 

Mommy Vacation

I feel as though I have been on a mini Mommy vacation. Last night I went to Melissa's for a Creative Memories workshop with my Mom. We had a great time. My Mom make a lot of progress on her Disney album and won a raffle prize! I was able to complete 4 pages of my Stephen & Cara album and am almost done with 3 years of memories - yahoo! This morning I went for a pedicure and a wax before going to my girlfriend Christine's baby shower. The shower was in North Brunswick at La Bella Donna. I had a really nice time. I got to spend time with my girlfriends that I never get a chance to see. Christine received so many nice gifts and she looks fantastic. That concludes my mini Mommy vacation, but I don't mind. David is so happy that I am home and I love that!

Allergies

For those of you that don't already know, my son David has an allergy to peanuts. My husband also has that allergy, so David was bound to get it. At David's 1st doctor's appointment after he was born, we were told that he could not have peanuts until he was at least 3 years old. That was easy enough to abide by when he was 1 week old! It did not become an issue until last November - so we got through 1 1/2 years, what can I say. When David came home after trick or treating on Halloween, I sorted the candy and put anything with peanuts in a rubbermaid container and told my husband and my parents what I was doing. Well, at some point in November David talked his loving MomMom into giving him a piece of chocolate. He pointed to what he wanted and she obliged as all grandmothers do. What she did not realize was that is was in the peanut container and was a mini snickers! I happened to have been working from home at the time and heard a little commotion in the kitchen. David was spitting out the candy. I asked my Mom what was going on, and she explained. I calmly said, snickers have peanuts. At this point David looked and was acting normal. But, it did not take long before he was blotchy, itchy and lethargic. After about 30 minutes he started vomiting continuously. My Mom and I were never so scared in our lives. I called the doctors office and was told to bring him right down. As I hung up the phone, Steve walked in the door, so he drove us to the office. Although the office is 5 minutes away - it felt like hours until we got there. They put us in a room right away and gave him injections of Benedryl. We immediately saw an improvement - THANK GOD! The doctor prescribed him an EpiPen and gave us a script for allergy tests. A few weeks later after David went for his blood tests and when the results came back we were told we needed to take him to a pediatric allergist. With the suggestion of David's pediatrician, we made a appointment with Dr. Zuckerman in Kendall Park. Dr. Zuckerman then explained that David's allergy to peanuts is extremely severe. Out of 6000, his labs came back in the high 5000! So needless to say we have to be extremely careful with David and peanuts, tree nuts and sesame. Now last month, David came in contact with shrimp and got the hives and had the vomiting. It was definitely not as bad, but it was not good. So yesterday we took David back to Dr. Zuckerman and sure enough, he can not have any shellfish. He did not make him go for any more blood work yet, his veins are very small, but he says he is allergic to shellfish. The weird thing about that is neither Steve nor I have that allergy, so hopefully, he can grow out of it. I feel bad for David, peanut butter and seafood (not together) are my 2 favorite foods! This also means he will have to be very careful when he is eating away from home and Mom & Dad. We'll have to teach him to ask a lot of questions about what he is being served to eat and he'll have to keep his EpiPen close at hand. Let's just hope this is all the allergies he has - for his sake and mine!

Blackout

First, I want to explain why the Smithville Train photo was posted today and not last night. I tried 4 times to upload the picture yesterday and could not, so I gave up. I thought I'd try again tonight and was successful.

Ok, now about the blackout. This afternoon my co-workers and I went out to lunch at Antonia's to celebrate 2 birthdays. Just as we were finishing up our meals - all the lights went out. It was dark. The owner and his staff came out to the tables with candles - which was funny. The first thing we all thought of was 'does our building have power?'. So, Judy grabbed her phone to find out. Of course our building was the only one for blocks with power - so off we went back to work. After work I met my Mom at Curves to find out not only did New Brunswick lose power, but Milltown, South River & East Brunswick also experienced blackouts. I have no idea what happened, but next time it happens, it better occur in my building.

Smithville Train 

Saying good-bye

My Aunt Rosie passed away last Friday and today was her wake and funeral. Aunt Rosie is my grandfather's (on my Dad's side) sister. She loved her family dearly especially my Dad. She thought the world of him, as do I. So, as you can see she was a smart lady too. She loved to have a good time and loved to dance. She lived near Atlantic City, so when my parents were in the area, they would visit her. They'd take her eat and then to a lounge for music and dancing. She really enjoyed those times. My cousin Kathy treated her like another Mother. She would bring her up to family things in our area - like my Dad's retirement party, my bridal and baby showers and David's christening. Recently my parents brought David down to visit her and she had a blast watching him run around. When I moved into my house, she sent me a care package that contained my great-grandfather's wedding band and my great-grandmother's bracelet. I thought that was awesome. Her passing came quickly just like her sickness. I love my Aunt Rosie and will miss her greatly.

On our way back to central Jersey, we stopped at Smithville. I had never been, but David had gone with my parents last fall. It was great! They have a train that you can ride around the shopping village and a merry go round. The stores are cute too - it reminded me of New Hope. I bought some NY Yankee items. They even have a store dedicated to Brighton! We stopped at Scoop's and had some ice cream. The birds were a little too much for me, so we did not hang out long. I do recommend stopping for a visit - that is if you do not have a bird issue like me!

Scappers of all ages! 

Working on their pages 

I am on my way

I can officially say that I am a Creative Memories Consultant! I held my kick-off class yesterday afternoon with Melissa and did great. Melissa taught the class, I observed and learned a lot. I had 12 friends and family members that came to support me and I can not thank them enough. The pages that were created came out really nice and everyone seemed to have a real good time. It looks like I got 5 bookings out of the day - which is really awesome. I can't wait to teach my first class and share this wonderful hobby with everyone.

New cut 

A new hair cut

My Mom took David to Somerset County Vo-Tech this morning to visit his Dad and his Aunt Kathy. Aunt Kathy is the cosmetology teacher and David needed a haircut, so she gave him one. Dad told her to go for the Buzz Cut. What do you think?

Another one 

1 deck box 

My Little Helper 

Planting

Today after work David and I planted some of the plants I had bought on Mother's Day. Think they came out real nice. Then we took a trip to Home Depot and bought an outdoor fireplace. I can not wait to use it! We had a good day.

Long week

This week is going to crawl by because I will be spending Tuesday (today), Wednesday and Thursday in Newark for all day meetings. Can you say 'YAWN'? Todays meetings were long and drawn out all because some people like to hear themselves talk. I did get a decent lunch hour (1 1/2 hours) due to a co-worker speaking up. We sat outside at a picnic table - the weather was great. Not looking forward to the long traffic filled ride tomorrow morning to Newark to again sit in boring meetings. I can not wait until my new business takes off and I can wake up every morning loving my job, helping people and having fun while I am doing both!

Mommy & David 

My Mother's Day

This morning when I woke up, Steve and David gave me a gorgeous Tiffany necklace for Mother's Day, along with 2 very thoughtful cards. At 10am, we met my parents, grandparents, Aunt Mary, Uncle Bob, Uncle Jim and cousins Chris & Jeff at the Seville Diner for breakfast. We had a real nice time. After, my Mom, Dad and I went to Parker Home to visit my Nana. We spent some time with her and then brought her to her dining room for lunch. When we got back home, my cousins Mike and Laura-Ann stopped over for a brief visit. I received an Angel of Tenderness, a real pretty top and a set of PJ's from my parents. While Steve was putting up the fence, we decided to cook on the grill, so my Mom, David and I went to the A&P to get steaks, shrimp, clams and some other goodies. My grandparents were at my house when we got back. I cleaned a little bit and Steve got the grill ready. Next my Aunt Judy and Uncle Jack arrived & my Grandparents left to go visit a friend. Steve cooked steak, clams, shrimp, hot dogs & cheeseburgers on the grill and we ate like kings & queens. Aunt Judy brought cake & donuts, so we had those with coffee and tea. Not long after, Aunt Judy & Uncle Jack left and my parents followed them about a 1/2 hour later. Steve got David ready for bed and we all snuggled up on the couch and before we knew it David was asleep. It was a great day!

The girls 

Showers of Happiness

This afternoon I attended a bridal shower for my cousin Mark's fiance Jen. Her bridesmaids threw the shower at Jen's mom's house. They did a wonderful job. The decorations were adorable and the food was great. Jen received a lot of beautiful gifts and some very creative ones. The creative ones are always my favorite - I just never think to give them! I had a wonderful time with all my aunts and cousins that were there - it was great to spend time with the fantastic women in my family. Jen is definitely one of them. I can't wait for the wedding!

Had a pedi 2 weeks ago 

Thanks to Laney

I have accomplished adding a 'hit counter' and a 'Blogs I Read' section to my blog. She is so helpful!

Working on the outside

On Wednesday night Steve and I went to Lowe's and purchased a fence, railings for our front porch and a new grill. I had a 10% off coupon and with that we basically paid 1/2 price for the grill - LOVE IT! Steve decided to stay home yesterday to start working on the fence. He got up early to start digging the holes and by 7:30 am (when I was leaving for work) he had 2 holes dug! After David had his morning milk, he went out to lend a hand. They worked on the holes all morning. Steve left our house around 2 pm for baseball practice and had all the posts cemented into the ground! What a good job he did. After he came home from practice, he and David put the new grill together. When I got home from my exciting dinner, I could not believe how much was done and how great it looked! This weekend we hope to finish up what we started...I'll post photos later today.

What a great dinner!

I usually don't post twice in 1 day, but I had to follow up my last post before I burst! I met Melissa at 5 pm and we talked until after 7 pm and WOW, I learned a lot. She is a fantastic Unit Leader. First of all, she had an answer for every question I had. Secondly, she wants her consultants to succeed as much as they do and finally, she has so much enthusiasm for her job. You can not help but be inspired and successful with someone like her as your leader. I have decided to become a part of Melissa's Creative Memories team and I can not wait to start! One of her pieces of advise is to let everyone I come in contact with know what I do, so for everyone reading this...
I help people create albums and preserve their memories. If you would like me to help you, please let me know.

Trying something new

After David was born I had 3 months (June, July & August) of maternity leave and worked from home for 1 month (September), but that still was not enough time. I did NOT want to go back to work. It helped immensely that my Mom & Dad would be his care givers. I thought that I would try becoming a consultant for a Home Party Plan company so that I could grow my business and stay home with David. So, I started Southern Living at Home is September of 2003. At first I did ok - some of my family & friends held parties for me. Then in the spring of 2004 I started traveling for work and that was the end. I renewed my contract in Sept. of 2004 thinking I might start up again, but just was not into it. I still feel that there has got to be a way for me to make good money and be home with David. As I have mentioned in a previous post, I am really into the scrapbooking thing. Actually, I love it. So, with me and my big ideas, I decided to ask my friend Melissa about joining her Creative Memories team. I emailed her last week with this big long email about my nervousness in starting with another Home Party Plan company, along with many questions. She graciously replied with some answers and a invitation to meet for dinner and talk further. We decided to meet tonight and I am very excited to hear all about her business. Not only am I really interested, I feel she will be a great leader. Stay tuned to see how I make out!

Love that giggle!

Mondays are SO tough for me. When that alarm goes off, I am not a happy camper. After being home all weekend and spending all my time with David & Steve, I feel sad to leave and go to work. However, we need to pay the mortgage, so I go forth and work. My Mom was going into to her old job to see some co-workers, so she came by my office when she was done. For those of you that do not know, my Mom used to work at UMDNJ also. She got me my first job here. I then got promoted to a new department and moved to a different building - still in New Brunswick. I knew my Mom and David had arrived when I heard his little voice say 'Mommy'. My co-workers and I spent some time with David, he showed them his tricks and giggled the whole time - I love his giggle. I had to get some work done, so my Mom and David left to go meet my Dad for lunch. I followed them about 30 minutes later. When I got to the restaurant I found where they were sitting and was pleasantly surprised to see my cousin Kate and my Aunt Carol were joining us. Kate is on Jury Duty and Aunt Carol also works in New Brunswick. I sat down and heard, 'Hi Mommy'. There was David, sitting in a big boy chair (no booster, no highchair) eating an apple. He was so proud of himself. You know he is proud when he repeats himself - he kept saying, 'I eat apple Mommy'. I can't believe what a big boy he is - so independent! After lunch I walked David to my Dad's car and my Dad drove me back to the office. When we got to the office, David told me 'No Mommy', but I kissed him good bye, held back my tears and went back to work. The rest of the work day flew by (thank goodness)- I had so much to do. I left work at 4 pm and I could not wait to walk through the door to my house and hear that little giggle! We played for a long time then David helped me make dinner. Dinner was ready before Steve got home, so we ate without him. After dinner, we played on the computer & waited for Steve to get home. When Steve walked in the door, David was so excited! He did that little giggle again while yelling 'Daddy's Home'. We all went up and put on our PJ's. Steve ate his dinner and I gave David a bottle. After his bottle he gave kisses good night and I took him to his crib. I always tell him, Good Night, Sleep Tight and Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite and he says, 'OK Mommy'. What a wonderful little boy! I did some more scrapbooking while watching CSI Miami and then we headed to bed. Mondays always end much better than they start!

Helping Jill 

Hard work paid off

My cousin Jill is a 3rd grade teacher at Frost Elementary School in East Brunswick and decided to further her career & education by obtaining her Masters Degree. Last night we celebrated her hard earned Masters at a family party given by her parents (my Aunt Judy & Uncle Jack). There was food, beer & cake and we all had a great time. David made a friend named Christopher and was a good boy all night. I do need to make mention of the fact that Jill worked her butt off for this degree. She stressed everytime she handed in a paper only to be rewarded with a good grade for all her determination. I know I am not alone when I say how proud I am of her. She is a great person, a fantastic teacher and a very special cousin. I love her dearly.