Thanksgiving Weekend 2008

Here's a brief rundown of Thanksgiving 2008.

Wednesday night while Big J was at the Panther/Devils game with his dad, Lil J and I attended a potluck party at our friends house. My Bourbon Dogs were a hit.

Thursday morning, my running buddy and I headed to Tamarac for the 28th Annual Turkey Trot 5K. Her husband biked along with us and took some great photos and she finished in under 37 minutes and I finished at 37. Not bad for our first run.

Thursday afternoon and evening was spent at my in-laws with Tutu, PopPop, H&J, M&S, D and the kids. Dinner was excellent and we all went home with leftovers.

Friday...hmmm...I'm drawing a blank. OH yeah...We went to see the Panthers practice at the stadium and then went to 5 Guys Burgers. In the evening, we went out on the boat with our new friend Eric from Miami and with my parents. We toured around to see Christmas lights and had dinner at Southport Raw Bar. We are becoming regulars.

Saturday I got up at 4:45am for what was supposed to be a 9 mile run. It ended up being a 3 mile run and a 7.5 mile walk. My knee was killing me so I had to walk most of it. Walking led to new sorts of pain including blisters on both feet. I rested most of the afternoon and we headed out to dinner and to do a little shopping at Target.

Sunday, Big J went to play football and Lil J and I had breakfast at Bernies. We spent most of the day just lounging around the house because it was raining out. We headed to Dave & Busters at 5pm to meet up with some of Big J's high school friends but no one showed so we played some games and had dinner and headed home.

It's hard to believe that it's already December.

I saw this on Facebook

Legacy of an Adopted Child

Once there were two women who never knew each other.
One you do not remember, the other you call mommy.

Two different lives shaped to make you one.
One became your guiding star, the other became your sun.

The first one gave you life, and the second taught you to live it.
The first gave you a need for love. The second was there to give it.

One gave you nationality. The other gave you a name.
One gave you talent. The other gave you aim.

One gave you emotions. The other calmed your fears.
One saw your first sweet smile. The other dried your tears.

One sought for you a home that she could not provide.
The other prayed for a child and her hope was not denied.

And now you ask me, through your tears,
the age old question unanswered through the years.

Heredity or environment, which are you a product of?
Neither, my darling. Neither. Just two different kids of love

What's Up With Me

Lots going on here in South Florida.
I started training with Team Challenge to run the Miami Half Marathon in January. I'm up to 4 miles.
We spent last weekend in Disney and had great weather and a great time. We got to see some old friends but only for a little while.
Yesterday was a mess. I picked up Lil J from daycare and he had 2 accidents, one during nap time so his blanket, sheet and all his clothes were wet and the second because he was too busy playing to get up and go pee.
Then we went to go get dinner at Steak-N-Shake and they were closed...out of business...ARGGG! So we headed to Cheeburger Cheeburger...also closed...out of business. This economy stinks. We ended up at Denny's and Lil J was very good except when he fell off the chair and smacked his head on the floor. Thank goodness they are carpeted.
After dinner, we headed to CVS to return the Pullups that Big J bought because they weren't overnight and we already have the kind he bought. CVS is no longer stocking the Overnight Huggies Pullups.
At least when we got home, the dog hadn't chewed the furniture or peed in the house because that would have been the end of it for me.

Weekend Thoughs

Friday night we took the boat with Pradeep down to Rival's at the Diplomat Hotel, on the boat. The weather was beautiful, Lil J was very well behaved and the food was yummy.

Saturday, I took Lil J to the pool while Big J power washed the balcony and patio. After we showered, we headed over to the hospital to visit PopPop. He was doing much better, behavior-wise, once Lil J showed up. Unfortunately, we had to see the Evil Sister and her family. The woman actually sent a text message to her own sister by accident, calling her a witch and when H confronted her, she didn't even apologize. Who's the witch here...

Saturday night we had tickets to the Marlin's game. They won and we got to see fireworks afterwords. Just seeing Lil J's face light up was all worth it.

Sunday we spent the day shopping for patio furniture. We thought we were going to buy a bistro set for the balcony but ended up with these awesome Adirondack chairs made out of recycled heavy duty polymer in a Key Lime Green and Caribbean Blue. They are sooo cute and I can't wait for the striped seat cushions to come in. Next we need a BBQ that actually works.

Monday I ran for 2 miles in under 30 minutes...go me! Last night I got no sleep so I don't know how well the run will go today. It may just be a brisk walk, or a trip to the mall, I guess we'll see in a few minutes.

Thursday Run

2.12 miles
walked 1 minute, ran 3 1/2
Tonight is the first meeting with my running team. I'm still wondering how I'm going to drag my ass out of bed at 5am on Saturdays. No wonder Big J is laughing at me.

Labor Day Weekend 2008

Our weekend started at Dolphin's stadium, new home of Miami Hurricane's football. Yes, it's sad that the Orange Bowl is gone and so are a lot of the traditions that went with it but now my seat has a back, the bathrooms look nicer than Sachs and Bloomingdales, it's air conditioned, there are HD jumbo screens so you can see the score and instant replays. Did I mention it's air conditioned and the bathrooms are awesome?!?!

We left Lil J with Julia on Thursday evening and then left for the airport on Friday at 5:30am for S & S's wedding in NJ. We only had to turn the car around twice to get the hotel info and invitations for dinner and all my jewelry and Big J's wedding ring. Friday we had lunch with Jeff's old friend from growing up and her husband and twin girls at Joe's in the Mall at Short Hills. After that, it was up to Oakland for a BBQ with the H family and their 3 kids. We had a great time and were sad we had to leave. Saturday, Big J and I took the train into NYC to be tourists. We hadn't been in the city in almost 3 years. We saw the WTC site, Wall Street, Battery Park, lunch in Chinatown, Little Italy and then back to Penn Station. The "rehearsal" dinner was at Calabria's in Livingston and dinner was yummy. Sunday morning we drove down to Marlboro to visit the R family and the twins. We had a yummy breakfast and played with the babies. Then it was back to the Hilton for me to get my hair done and for Big J to take a nap.

Good thing I stayed behind at the hotel with keys to everyone's rooms because I ran around like a maniac getting Tide to Go to remove a stain from the groom's tux shirt, moved iPods, checked on husbands, found contact lens drops, etc. We left for the wedding around 6:30pm and arrived at the Crystal Plaza. I saw a lot of S's friends that I hadn't seen in years and had a lot of fun. The ceremony was outside and I got to see Cantor Siet. Then we went inside for the party. I had to help lift the ladies on the chair during the Hora because it was a modern Orthodox wedding and for some reason, the men didn't find it necessary to help us. Women in evening gowns and high heels should not be lifting people in the air on a chair. It's just wrong.

Monday we woke up, packed, had brunch and headed to the airport. We got home before Lil J went to bed so we got to see him for a few minutes. More than anything, he wanted to see his doggy Rocky. He didn't miss mommy or daddy, just the damn dog. So now, Rocky is home from the Pompano Pet Lodge and Lil J will be thrilled.

Now, back to work.

Politics - Just My Opinion

So last night I watched McCain announce his running mate for Vice President. A woman governor of Alaska. At first, I thought it was brilliant, what a fantastic way to knock the Democrats down from their fantastic week of festivities at the DNC. Then the news stories about her started...

She's been a govenor for 2 years, that's it. No foreign policy, nothing on a national level. Before she was govenor, she was the mayor of a town in Alaska for a few years. That town was under 7000 people. There were more than that in my graduating class from college. My dad was the president of the schoolboard in the town where I grew up and was responsible for more people than lived in her town. This woman could possibly be one breath away from being the leader of the free world. That's almost as scary as another 4 years of GWB.

What kind of experience does she have? Defending Alaska from Nanook of the North, Yukon Cornelious and the Bumble from Rudolf? When I first heard the news, I was a little nervous, now, I'm not so concerned.

That's only my opinion.

Miscellaneous

I started running so I posted a map of my lunch time run here.

I saw a new eye doctor and I'm not a good candidate for Lasik because my vision is too good. If he corrects my distance vision, I'll end up needing reading glasses to sit at he computer and read which is what I spend most of my time doing. So we are trying contacts which seem to be working out.

Lil J is potty trained, wearing glasses again and needs to have another eye surgery in December to correct his Strabismus.

Work stinks but what else is new.

Big J and I are heading to NJ for S & S's wedding this weekend and we'll see our Disney Friends and the new twins.

Summer was fun, lots of time on the boat and at some water parks.

Humira is working and my Crohns finally seems to be in control...only took 8 years...

Random Thoughs

It's rained here for the past 7 days...but not today. Not on the day after we had fires in the Everglades that rained down ash all over the jacuzzi and lawn furniture. Not on the day that they lawn guys put fertilizer down. Murphy's Law?

How come Big J couldn't look in the store at the ice rink for gloves before I had to search for them online, during the summer, when the only ones I could find were $15 with shipping and dark brown? How come I knew to check the store at the ice rink because I knew they would have gloves (that were only $5)? And how come he didn't think to buy them before Lil J's first lesson when all 40 other kids had gloves or mittens on?

Vegas Baby Vegas

So it's been quite a while since I've posted. In a nutshell, we went on vacation to Deerfield Beach to the Embassy Suites with Big J's family. We played on the beach, swam in the pool, went to the PlayMobile Park (indoors where the kids can play with all the toys) and went to the Palm Beach Zoo. We had a great Memorial Day weekend.

Lil J turned 3 and we had his birthday party at the Humane Society of Broward County. The kids decorated party hats, got a tour of all the doggies and cats up for adoption, played with two 8 week old puppies for 20 minutes, had pizza, cake & juice boxes and all I had to do was send out the invitations and thank you cards. It was the best party ever for a kid.

So Vegas...I went to Las Vegas for my first time with two of my oldest girlfriends, M & S. Together, we make up PMS so it's easy for people to remember our names. We arrived at the airport around the same time and got to our hotel around Midnight. We stayed at THEHotel at Mandalay Bay. Our room wasn't ready (at 12am) so we sat down at the bar for a cocktail. A seemingly nice man sat down next to me and I tried to make polite conversation while still trying to speak to my girlfriends. He was telling me about his family and his work and getting drunker and drunker by the minute. Next thing I know, he turns to me and says, "I'd just really like to F**K you!" Everyone at the bar heard this. I was so shocked that I got up and walked away. The bartender had to ask him to leave because he started making a scene. They had never had a bar fight there until just a few weeks ago and didn't want to have another one.

The rest of the weekend was uphill from there. We spent Friday by the pool under a great shaded cabana, drank wine, ate Lobster salads and gourmet PB&J sandwiches. S took me around to a few hotels (Excalibur, Luxor, NYNY) and we rode the roller coaster at NYNY. Then we went to the Mirage for dinner at Stack and had great martinis and food. We gambled a little and danced a little and then crashed. Saturday was spent at a different pool under a not so shaded cabana and it was 106 degrees that day. I spent as much time in the shade as possible only venturing out to go to the bathroom or cool off in the pool. S's friend Stacy joined us for the day and stayed for dinner. We had dinner at the Venetian in a restaurant/club called Tao. The food was amazing and we were so stuffed afterwards that we canceled our private table in the club and headed back to our hotel to sleep. On Sunday, we headed to the Paris hotel for breakfast, where M won $350 playing Keno at the restaurant table. We then walked around the Paris, watched the fountains at the Bellagio and headed back to THEHotel to pack and head to the airport.

It was a great weekend and PMS is looking into doing a girls weekend once a year in different locations.

laptops

When they named laptop computers, laptops, I don't think they were really meant for 8 hours of work on your lap. They should have been called crick-in-your-neck-tops.

Hours upon hours in a cramped hot office in Miami is not a good work environment. I think I need to soak in the hot tub now.

The Toddler Bed Experiment

Sunday we converted Lil J's crib into a Toddler Bed. It's basically his crib without the front railings but with a small lip so he won't fall out. His first time sleeping in this was an afternoon "nap". He cried and complained but we explained that if he rested for an hour, we could go to Chucky Cheese to play afterwards (and that's a whole other story).

Big J and I were upstairs and we could here Lil J playing quietly in his room. After about an hour, her started to cry so I went downstairs to see what was wrong. OMG!

There he was, standing up against the gate to his room (we gate it b/c we don't want him on the stairs alone). There were clothes on the hangers all over the floor because he emptied out the bottom rack of his closet. There were toys everywhere. There was blue gel from his scar medicine smooched into the carpet, his hair, his clothes and on the dresser. It was also all over the wipes container. He must have gotten it open and then tried to wipe it clean. He must have taken his shirt off because it was back on but inside out and backwards. Then I finally realized why his was crying and saying he was stuck. He had also taken his shorts off and put them back on but both legs were through one leg hole and he was hopping around and couldn't walk.

The whole mess was so funny that we couldn't be mad at him. It was our own fault for not making his room even more toddler proof than it already is.

So, after we were all cleaned up, we headed out to go to Chucky Cheese. Lil J, who obviously didn't nap, fell asleep 5 minutes into the car ride. I stopped at Baby Love to pick up something to lock his closet sliding doors with and installed that as soon as we got home. We woke Jacob up to go to Chucky Cheese and went inside. The place was a zoo. There were lines to use any of the games and rides. There must have been at least 4 birthday parties going on at the same time and we were the only white family in the place, not that that's an issue, it was just a little odd to be the minority.

So, we headed to Big Al's Aquarium Store were we spent 30 minutes looking at the fish in the tanks and the alligators. Then we had dinner at Applebee's and headed home.

Last night, Lil J slept in his toddler bed for the first time and we had no issues whatsoever. Today, after dinner, we are going to Target to let him pick out his very own sheet/blanket set for his big boy bed.

100 Calorie Hostess Packs

So I've waited 4 weeks for my local Publix to start carrying the Hostess 100 Calorie Pack Coffee Cakes because I love the originals and had a coupon.

I was so excited that they were finally available that I bought 2 boxes, 6 packs in each box.

I got it home and managed to wait to eat one until after I finished my lunch.

What a huge disappointment!

When I opened the package, I actually laughed out loud at how small they were. Each "cake" was the size of my thumbnail...okay, that's an exaggeration...they were about the size of a mini muffin. They also tasted like cardboard with cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top. And to top it off, I think they gave me indigestion.

Now I "have" to eat 11 more packages of them. At least they are only 100 calories.

Here and There

Last Saturday, Aunt M came over with the boys to play with Lil J while her hubby was home sick. R played quietly by himself and L and Lil J had a ball playing with toy cars and books.

Last Sunday, we spent the afternoon at my brother's with his family. It was a beautiful day and the kids went fishing in the neighborhood, rode bikes and played around in the garage. Lil J went peepee on the potty at our house that night for the first time and Big J promised him a present if he went for us. So on Tuesday afternoon, on the way home from the eye doctor, after Lil J was fitted for glasses, we stopped at CVS and he picked out his very own Mr. PotatoHead, just like his big cousin has. Then we had pizza with H&J because Big J had to work late.

This Saturday, we brought breakfast over to Tutu and PopPop's so they could spend some time with their great grandson. He managed to entertain Tutu for almost 3 hours and then fell asleep in the car. It was a good transfer that let me and Big J take a 3 hour nap ourselves. So much for watching our Netflix movies. That night, we had a babysitter and Big J and I went out to dinner with our friend's the Blacks at the Rustic Inn. Too bad no one told me it was a messy, crab eating place that requires bibs and sicks throughout the restaurant. Since I rarely get to go out nice, I got dressed up not knowing what kind of place it was and somehow, I managed to stay clean. We had garlic bread, Dungeness Crab, Clams Rockefeller and corn on the cob. We were supposed to go to Jackson's (famous ice cream place) but no one had any room for dessert.

Sunday, we took Lil J and Rocky out on the boat. The weather was beautiful and despite how hot it was, we had a great cool breeze off the water. While Lil J napped in the afternoon, I headed over to the Coral Springs Art Festival where I had a giant Jamba Juice smoothie and hot candied almonds for lunch. I bought a couple of magnetic picture frames but couldn't find a new wind chime which was my real reason for going. After a quick shower, we headed over to the Bank Atlantic Center for a Panther's hockey game and had a nice time at the CareersUSA suite. It's hard to sit in the cheap sits after being spoiled like that.

Now It's March

We had a really nice weekend. Saturday morning we got up nice and early and headed to downtown Fort Lauderdale for the Humane Society Walk for the Animals. Big J's company raised money for the event and about 17 people were there to walk their dogs. The 17 were from his company, there were thousands of people and thousands of dogs too. We had H&J with us, Lil J and Rocky the dog too. After the walk, we headed home for naps and showers.

Saturday night, my mom and dad took us out to dinner at Grande Lux at the Sawgrass Mills Mall. Lil J was a really good little boy, ate all his chicken fingers and pigged out on Mommy's Jasmine Rice. Too bad it was so chilly out because it would have been nice to walk around (except my tush still hurts from my surgical fiasco weeks ago).

Sunday we went to Denny's for breakfast. We like to call that White Trash Sunday. If you saw the crowd, you would know what I'm talking about. Lil J was an angel at the table (again). Then Big J and I spent the afternoon hanging up new Orange Bowl Memorabilia and pictures in our guest room/office. Since they are knocking the OB down, we order some of the mosaic tiles from the West End Zone and one of our orange plastic seats. It's in a really cool display case that is hanging under a panoramic picture.

We spent Sunday evening relaxing in front of the TV watching Elmo Goes Potty for the 30th time and then headed for bed. I think I slept for about 3 hours because I just couldn't get my mind to shut down.

That's it for the weekend. On to a new week.

Now February is Almost Over

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind. I know the Giants won the Superbowl (woo hoo). I had another procedure done by my new surgeon, Dr. Lago, to stretch out my scar tissue and fix my setons. It didn't go so well.

I had major pain in my butt for a week and the following Thursday, Valentine's Day, I started to bleed from the incision site profusely. At 10:30pm, I had Big J drive me to the ER. They admitted me for observation to see if I had a blood vessel that they were going to have to repair. I spent Friday lying in a hospital bed and resting. The doctore released me around 7:30pm and Big J came with Lil J to pick me up.

Big J told Lil J that Mommy needed medicine and explained what all the machines in the room were for. Thank God I wasn't hooked up to the IV anymore. Lil J was very concerned and kissed my booboo. I spent Saturday and Sunday lying in bed all day which definitely helped because I was able to go back to work on Monday full time.

In other news...Big J's grandfather is not doing to well. He keeps falling and my poor in-laws are spending 7 days a week keeping tabs on him and Tutu. Then, yesterday morning, H&J woke up to a flooded house and are sleeping at our house for the next few nights while they dry out. That'll keep Lil J busy and happy.

January is Almost Over - What Happened?

It's now January 21st and I have no idea what happened to this month.

I know we went to Disney World last weekend for 5 days. We spent Saturday at the Magic Kingdom, had dinner with Pooh and Tigger and the women from Big J's office and their families. On Sunday we met up with B&E and their kids and families at Epcot while B was running the full marathon. We had dinner in China (not the same as NY style Chinese). Monday it was back to the Magic Kindom and we stayed until the Spectromagic Light Parade was over. Tuesday we went to Disney's Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM). Tuesday night, we had dinner at the HoopDeeDoo review. It was a lot of fun for the kids and Joey Lawrence (of Dancing w/the Stars fame, Blossom and Nell) was sitting at the table next to us. Lil J and his daughter were dancing together and I spoke with the mom for a minute. Nice people.

Lil J's favorite things at Disney were the Barnstormer Roller Coaster (which we rode 4 times because he laughed so hard on it), the Pirates of the Caribbean Ride and It's a Small World. We bought seasonal tickets again but probably won't go back until the fall.

This weekend we had Breakfast on the Farm at Tradewinds park. There was food, pony rides and a farm tour. The weather was great and Lil J got to spend time with his buddies from school, DJ & Kirsten and their families.

The Giants are in the Superbowl!!! Wooo Hooo. That means I don't have to go to any parties because I need to stay home and watch my team!

Other than that, it's been work, work, work.