Sometimes I Can Be Funny

random thoughts

2010-10-27T13:59:00.003-04:00

So my checkbook won't balance. It's off by $8000+. How is that possible? What am I missing.

I had to get my hair colored today for the first time because if I pluck any more grey hair out, I'll go bald.

My neighbors are getting a pool and all the construction trucks and people are driving the dogs (and me) crazy.

The $900 credit that Bedz accidentally charged me for someone else's mattress still hasn't shown up on my Visa. I'm thinking it's time to switch back to American Express. Then I wouldn't have to check for the credit every day for 60 days, call to get the interest charges reversed because they told me not to pay the $900. ARG!

And why can't I balance my damn checkbook!!?!?!

Tell Me Again

2010-01-19T11:00:00.001-05:00

Can someone please explain to me again how working with offshore resources in India is a good thing? I know it's cheap labor and the guys I happen to work with are good at their jobs but it's now 10am and they won't read my emails until tonight, when it's their work day. Then tomorrow morning, I'll test what they worked on again and reply with more questions and have to wait another day for answers.

What should take 30 minutes, takes 3 days.

Trying to Sell the House

2009-08-13T09:19:00.003-04:00

So I work from home right? And we are trying to sell our house. A couple is coming back with their agent today, for the 3rd time, which is good news. Except, they want me out of the house. Well, my office is in my house, my phone, computer, printer and all the tools I use to do my job are in my house. What am I supposed to do, carry everything with me to Dunkin Donuts and hope that my wireless works? Yes, I understand that I need to sell the house but can't you people discuss things upstairs in my kitchen, on the other side of my house where I can't hear you? NO, I have to leave.

I told my agent that I can't. I'd be glad to sit out in my backyard where I can easily have access to my wireless and all my stuff, including my home phone which my clients do call me on. She called their agent and they agreed that would be okay. So here's the good news...It's freaking 90+ degrees outside and my stupid lawn maintenance company is running 3 days behind so today, of all days, they are mowing and weed whacking in my backyard...at 9:30am, just when these people are supposed to arrive.

So much for getting my work done. Cross your fingers that they like the house and don't make an insulting offer like the people last night. $80K under our asking price. Just stop! Don't look in my neighborhood and go back to your stupid condo! And if your agent is telling you that the market is going to drop another 16% over the next few months, save your money and buy then! It's such an insult and contradiction!

Freaking Great Day

2009-02-04T13:44:00.005-05:00

So today started off pretty good. I got a call from a VP in my company to tell me that I got a raise even though I wasn't supposed to get one because of the economy. How cool is that? Then he also tells me that the company met it's numbers and I'll be getting my bonus in March. WOO HOO...more goods news.

And that's where it ended!

Then my manager calls me and asks if I'm sitting down. Now we know that can't be good.

They have decided to put me on the next project...
1. even though I've been on 2 consecutive projects and was looking forward to doing some support work.
2. Even though my employee counterpart lives and works in Baltimore where the project is taking place.
3. Even though she's the expert in the area where almost all the work will have to be done.
4. Even though they will have to spend thousands of dollars to have me traveling for the next 9 months.

I almost cried on the phone. I have a 3 year old and I'm his primary care taker. I get him dressed, feed him breakfast and take him to school every morning. I pick him up from school and feed him dinner and get him ready for a bath and bed every night. I do the grocery shopping, the laundry, pay the bills and take care of the dog during the day. Now they expect me to be in Baltimore 2 weeks a month for the next 9+ months. I can't do it and I told them that. Once a month is a maybe. When I'm not home, I pay extra for the dog walker, I exhaust my parents and in-laws because they have to pick Lil J up from school and take care of him until Big J gets home from work.

This is soooo not good.

Welcome 2009

2009-01-12T17:15:00.003-05:00

So here's what we've been up to:
We spent a weekend in Orlando at a timeshare with Grandma & Grandpa and took them to Disney Hollywood Studios. We went on a lot of rides and found out that Handy Manny is Hispanic...who knew???

After Disney, we did a photo shoot with one of Big J's friends from high school. You can see her work at JPSearcyPhotography.com. It was amazing and made great gifts for the holidays.

Hanukkah was fun. Lil J was spoiled by everyone but his favorite gifts seem to be his homemade Curious George Blanket from his Aunt H and his Pirates Treasure Chest from Grandma and Grandpa.

We've taken some friends out on the boat, including the P's from Ohio. That was a lot of fun and we had beautiful weather. Our friends from NJ were here with their 7.5 month old twins for a visit and we saw them on 3 different occasions and had more fun each time.

New Year's Eve was at our house this year with the regular gang. We ordered in sandwiches from Jason's Deli and everyone brought yummy desserts. The kids were good for the most part, no one got hurt and nothing in the house was broken, but someone else can host it next year. On New Year's Day, we had another block party which was a lot of fun but Big J and I left early to go to the Orange Bowl Game at Dolphin's Stadium. It was Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech so we didn't really care who won but after the first quarter, we were clearly rooting for UC since the VT fans were so obnoxious. The best part was the family in front of us who were Gator fans. They cheered for whoever had the ball and they were a very funny bunch.

This past weekend we went back to Disney...again. We spent Friday in the Magic Kingdom with the H family from NJ and that was a wonderful day. Saturday was at Epcot with SK from Jeff's office and we had dinner with everyone from Peachtree at the Land. On Sunday, we went back to the Magic Kingdom with SK. Lil J had a blast hanging out with him on all the rides. I can't believe he's big enough to go on all the adult rides except for Space Mountain.

The last item of importance is the race. I've been training for 3 months for the Miami Half Marathon and raising money for CCFA. I've raised over $2000 dollars and I can run up to 12 miles. I have ITB Friction Syndrome which causes pain in my left knee so it's been tough but I'm holding my own.

Now, back to work.

Thanksgiving Weekend 2008

2008-12-01T09:04:00.002-05:00

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

2008-11-17T15:46:00.001-05:00

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

2008-10-21T12:35:00.002-04:00

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

2008-09-16T11:30:00.002-04:00

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

2008-09-04T13:22:00.001-04:00

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

2008-09-02T12:51:00.002-04:00

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

2008-08-30T17:59:00.003-04:00

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

2008-08-27T13:38:00.003-04:00

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

2008-06-24T16:01:00.002-04:00

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

2008-06-16T12:51:00.002-04:00

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

2008-04-21T21:07:00.001-04:00

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

2008-04-21T11:03:00.002-04:00

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

2008-03-19T16:57:00.002-04:00

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

2008-03-17T16:49:00.003-04:00

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

2008-03-03T10:46:00.002-05:00

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

2008-02-20T15:03:00.001-05:00

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?

2008-01-21T12:03:00.000-05:00

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.

Sporting Events and Shopping Stupidity

2007-12-31T09:15:00.000-05:00

This weekend we spent a lot of time at Panther Stadium. We went to the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic where Lil J saw his first basketball game. I think the only thing that interested him was the fact that it was Miami playing. We're going to stick with hockey for him.

Sunday was a shopping nightmare for me. I volunteered to make a bunch of appetizers for New Years Eve at my sister-in-law's house for the party. Seven layer Mexican dip, Sweet and Sour Turkey meatballs (in the crock pot) and Bourbon dogs. For some reason, Big J insisted that we go to WalMart to do this shopping, that way he could walk around the sporting goods department with Lil J while I did the grocery shopping. Now I remember why I shop at Publix and not WalMart - I don't know where anything is.

I got all the groceries, except the cocktail weenies for the Bourbon dogs and I still needed a bottle of Bourbon for the recipe. After dropping the boys off, I headed out to a liquor store to buy the bourbon. They didn't have any (or the stupid clerk couldn't understand English). So I headed to Publix to buy the weenies - success!

I got home and decided that the Bourbon could wait until Monday at lunch hour and I'd run to a real liquor store. I started to make the Turkey Meatballs and realized I was out of Parsley. I ran to the WalMart Neighborhood Market (this store is groceries only) and they had a detached liquor store. So I finally found the spices, bought them, bought a huge bottle of Bourbon since they didn't have any small ones and headed home.

When I went to complete my meatballs, I realized I bought Oregano, not Parsley. I was so mad at myself and remembered why I always have a grocery list. If I had written it down, I would have had parsley. I substituted Italian Seasoning for the Parsley and if anyone can actual taste the difference and tell me, I may have to bash them over the head with my crock pot.

So...Happy New Year to all and let's hope that 2008 is a better year!

Parties and Time Off

2007-12-26T14:18:00.000-05:00

The last 2 weeks have been a whirlwind of parties and time off from work. Big J and I were invited to one of his vendors Holiday parties last Friday night. It was a Casino Night theme and we walked away with $100 gift card to Bloomingdale's...can you say "new shoes"! That Saturday night was Big J's company party where I got to spend time with my brother and his wife. The theme was Mardi Gras and the flowers and decor were beautiful. White, burgundy and gold with amazing flowers. The food was good and the desserts were even better.

Not much went on during the week.

This past Friday, we took the boat out with L&S and their kids to see Christmas lights and have dinner. It was pretty chilly but we had a great time. Saturday, I picked LP (now LC) up at the airport for her visit from Cleveland. We went to a party and then to a Panther game where we sat in a suite.

Sunday, we took a boat out with Big J's parents and cruised down to the Diplomat for lunch. For dinner, we drove up to my parents house at ate at Jacob's Deli. Monday, LC and I went for an airboat ride out in the Everglades. We saw a huge gator from the boat and the weather was fantastic. On Sunday night, Christmas Eve to most of the world, Big J took Lil J to a Christmas party with his family and LC and I headed out to the movies and dinner at Chopstix. We saw I Am Legend with Will Smith. HOLY CRAP was that a scary movie. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Halfway through the movie I said to LC, "I don't think I can take another hour of this." It was probably the scariest movie I've seen in many, many years.

Monday, LC had to leave and I took her to the airport. Big J wasn't feeling well (ear infection) so I took Lil J to my parents to go swimming since it was so nice out. Half the people at my parents pool were from Marlboro so it was pretty funny seeing all of them. I headed home and Lil J napped and Big J and I brought in Chinese food. You can't have Christmas in a Jewish house without having Chinese food at least one night.

Now, it's back to work.

Vacation

2007-12-13T15:00:00.000-05:00

Oy, where do I start. Where did I stop?

On December 1st, Big J and I left for Sandals in St. Lucia. Lil J spent the first 4 nights with my parents and the last 3 with Big J's. He did really well considering we were gone for 8 days.

We arrived in St. Lucia and discovered that we are very spoiled and our expectations are way too high. While the island was beautiful and so was the hotel, we still expected it to be better than it was. It took 2 or 3 times to get someone to get us extra pillows, coffee at breakfast or a refill on a soda. The hotel staff was pretty nice but the restaurant staff was lacking. We found the service to be much better at the other location, the Grande, than at our hotel, the Regency.

Here's what we did during our vacation:

slept
ate
drank (Pina Coladas, No Pressures, Dirty Bananas)
deep sea fishing - no fish, but we saw 3 Sperm whales
whale and dolphin watching - saw a school of over 200 Spinner Dolphins
snorkeled
sailed on a HobieCat
ocean kayaking
pool volleyball
horseshoes
watched a St. Lucian native, Cowboy Eddy, sing amazing country western
hung out at a piano bar
met people from Palm Beach, Wisconsin, Ohio, New Orleans
sat in the sun

It was a really nice trip. When we got home, we attended my company holiday party which was a brunch at Don Shula's (yummy fresh waffles) and then went to my parents to celebrate Hanukah. Lil J got a soccer net and soccer ball, a Hess truck with motorcycles and a Thomas the Train set. He got a hockey net and alphabet computer too. The kid is soooo spoiled now. He kept asking for more presents and even helped his cousins open theirs (saying "I want to rip it" about the wrapping paper).

Now it's back to work with 2 more parties this weekend. Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays.

Thanksgiving Weekend

2007-11-27T09:57:00.001-05:00

Thursday at Mom & Dads:

The food was great.
The weather was great.
The kids were great.

Friday:

We took Lil J to the Children's Museum in Ft. Lauderdale because they trucked in 25 tons of snow and put outside. Snow in south Florida is called slushy ice. Big J taught him how to throw snowballs.
Played in the museum for a while with Chandler and Benny.
Took M&S and the boys, L&S and their boys out on a 26 foot deck boat onto the intercoastal. Everyone brought food and drinks so we rode around and docked on the New River. After eating, we headed back to the marina and the boat broke down. We had to wait to be towed back. H&J picked up M&S and the kids and the rest of us stayed on the boat for the tow. It was actually a lot of fun.

Saturday:

Damn...it's only been 2 days and I can't remember what we did.
Oh yeah...I remember. Big J went fishing and H accompanied me to Sam's Club and Target. There's a new Target in town and apparently, no one knows about it yet. It was the Saturday after Thanksgiving and it was practically empty of people but the shelves were stocked.
Finished all my Hanukah shopping.
Dinner at a Hibatchi restaurant. Poor Lil J was so scared when the cook lit the oil on fire that he jumped out of his seat and onto my lap before I even realized what happened. He was crying hysterically and everyone was laughing. He's so damn cute.

Sunday:

Took Lil J to the West Palm Beach Zoo. It was a really cute zoo and before we even realized it, we were done. We let him run around the spray ground fountain for about 30 minutes and he was asleep for hours after that.
Took Tutu and PopPop out for dinner at Roaster's N Toasters, a deli, for PopPop's 90th birthday. They got some good food and got to spend some time one on one with Lil J.

Hope everyone had a nice holiday too.

Long Weekend - Standing in Line and Barf

2007-11-19T14:23:00.001-05:00

Friday night, Big J had to teach, again, so Lil J and I hung out and watched Elmopalooza about 15 times. What fun.

Saturday, Big J had to teach, all day, again. Lil J and I went to Nova with M&S and the boys and we played on the playgrounds and had lunch at Chicken Kitchen. Lil J fell asleep on the way home and then slept for over 3 hours. Guess the little guy was pooped.

At 2:30 my parents came over to watch Lil J because I had to go to Dolphin Stadium to pick out our seats for the Miami Hurricanes 2008 football season. I was not looking forward to doing this alone and when I arrived and people we saying they had been standing in line for over 4 hours, it just seemed to get worse. After arriving, I went up to The Club Level, where our new seats would be. I spoke with a nice guy who told me that the sections Big J and I had picked out were already sold out. He suggested another 4 sections and told me to go sit in the seats and see if I liked them. It's a very strange feeling to be walking around an NFL football stadium and only pass one person, a cleaning lady. I went to the sections the nice guy told me about and sat in the seats and took some pictures. At this point, Big J was already on his way home (and could have grabbed Lil J and met me) but he called me and we discussed my options.

Option 1: Write down my first 4 choices of seats and hand them back to the nice man where they'll be placed in a pile 4 inches high of other peoples first 4 choices. When they get to mine (in 3 months??) they'll call me and let me know which seats I got. If none of my first 4 choices were available, I can then choose from what is left, over the phone, without seeing the seats.

Option 2: Wait in line for 2 to 4 hours to make sure I get the seats that I want, even though they are still not our first choice.

I chose option 2. I stood in line. The people around me were very nice and we all agreed that if someone needed a potty break, we would hold there place. After an hour and just before the Miami game started, they decided to give away food since they realized people had been standing for hours. This was a good thing because I was starving and thirsty but at least I knew my line-mates would hold my place for me. I did have a chance to use the Ladies room on the Club level and it's as nice as Nordstrom or Bloomingdale's so that may be worth the cost of these ridiculous tickets we're paying for. At 6:30pm, I finally got out of there, fought my way through the crowd of Hondurans and Guatemalans heading for a soccer (futbol) match. I made it to the turnpike and headed home.

Sunday we joined M&S and the boys at R's soccer match. He's 4. It was funny. We had the boys running around until they couldn't stand anymore. After a long nap, a trip to the bookstore to buy a Thomas the Train book, dinner at Tijuana Taxi and Target, we got Lil J home where he barfed up dinner into his blankie and we waited a while to put him to bed because he was still gagging. That was a first for me and Big J and I'm very proud of myself for not barfing while cleaning up.

So that was our long weekend. Except for Lil J's flu shot this morning, the short week should be a good one. Happy Turkey Day!

Last Miami Game at the OB

2007-11-13T14:25:00.000-05:00

Saturday evening was the last Miami Hurricanes game at the Orange Bowl. It was a sad game and a sad night. Big J was crying on the ride down as the sports reporters on the local AM sports radio were reminiscing. We actually tailgated for a little while before the game which included deli sandwiches, cheese and fruit and chocolate donuts. Not exactly tailgating food like beer, brat and burgers, but that's how us Jews do it. Back in the old'en days, we used to bring bagels and schmears, fruit, orange juice, rugelah, all the makings of a good brunch. Miami had their butts handed to them at the game by Virginia. It was like watching a train wreck. I swear I spent half the game waiting in line for a Coke and a bathroom anyway. Lil J stayed at home with the new babysitter and he was a very good boy for her.

Friday we went to see the Panther game with Lil J and we had someone sneak us into one of the suites where we had mini cheeseburgers, fries and berries with cream in chocolate dessert cups...not what you would get in section 401K. Lil J had a good time and got to wear his jersey.

Sunday we met up with some friends at a local park where the kids ran around at the playground and the mom's chit-chatted. We spent 2 hours there and Lil J fell asleep on the way home. For dinner, M&S came over with the kids and we had pizza and played for a few hours. Fun was had by all.

If anyone get's a chance, check out my friend's blog at www.unleashedhumor.com. He's not a soccer mom or anything near that, in fact, he can be kind of nasty but in a very funny way. I'm glad he finally has an outlet for his humor.

First Babysitter and Other Adventures

2007-11-06T16:56:00.000-05:00

Halloween came and went with not much fuss. Lil J dressed as a Florida Panther hockey player. He had a cold and a fever so we didn't Trick or Treat (Big J was teaching that night anyway). Lil J and I sat on our front porch and handed out candy. He was quite amused by this process. Everytime he dropped a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup in a child's bag, he looked at me and shouted, "I gave candy, Mommy, I gave candy!" It was really cute. Then, whenever someone would walk by the end of the driveway, he'd stand up and shout, "GO PANTHERS!" He had me and my neighbor in stitches. Hopefully, next year, Big J will be home to take him out so I can stay behind and give out the treats.

Saturday was another Miami Hurricanes football game. We took Lil J and H&J and had a moderately good time, they lost in overtime. Lil J fell asleep on Big J's shoulder just about the time regulation play ended. After a few minutes of that, his back started to hurt so Lil J was passed to me. Even with all the movement and crowd cheering, Lil J remained asleep...amazing. We carried him out of the stands, down a huge ramp from the 2nd level of the stadium and then another 7 or 8 blocks to the car and the kid never woke up.

Sunday was Big J's grandfather's 90th birthday party. PopPop, as Lil J calls him, had a great time and all the family was there, even Big J's aunt Vicki and Uncle Steven (Family drama! Oy!). I'm using their real names because they don't deserve the privacy. We had great food and all the kids played together and had a great time. Too bad Big J was sick with a cold.

Sunday night, we hired our very first babysitter from Sittercity.com. She came over at 6pm to meet us and Lil J. She was very sweet and didn't mind our 85 pound annoying Golden Retriever, Rocky. Lil J just happened to fall asleep on the way home from PopPop's party so we had to wake him to meet her. He was a little cranky but lightened up after 2 hotdogs and some applesauce. Big J and I left him at the dinner table with her and he was fine. We actually tried out a restaurant for the first time called Chopsticks. It's an Asian Fusion place with Thai, Sushi and Japanese. We'll definitely be going back there. Yummy. We got home and Lil J and the sitter had gotten along just fine. She'll be coming back next week for the last Miami game at the Orange Bowl. Maybe they'll win that game...one can only hope.

Crohns and Disney World

2007-10-29T14:10:00.001-04:00

I woke up on Friday morning, after feeling pretty tired and achy for the last week, with another abcess from my Crohns (and a fever, indigestion and no appetite). It's in a very bad place and if the doctor drains it or it starts to drain on it's own, I could end up with a recto-vaginal fistula and those things only seem to heal when you go back to an ostomy bag. NOT HAPPENING! So I saw my surgeon and he said, "I think you should be in the hospital" and I said, "I'm going to Disney World with my family this weekend. Give me antibiotics and if I still don't feel well when I get home, you can decide what to do."

So I'm home. I'm nauseous from all the antibiotics and still tired but the abcess doesn't hurt quite as much. Still having other stomach issues. If they aren't resolved by tomorrow morning, I'll call the doctor.

We did have a lot of fun in Disney. We spent Saturday in the Magic Kindom and Lil J enjoyed it as much as ever. No nap and he insisted on walking most of the time. He was great. We met some friends who were in town w/o their kids for a marathon at MGM and had dinner with them. It was nice to see them and catch up for a few hours. We'll be spending 3 full days with them at the parks in January with all the kids. Sunday we spent at Animal Kindom with my brother and his family. It was a little hotter and a little more crowded than Saturday which made everyone a little cranky. It's also a pretty boring park compared to the other 3. I think we'll wait a while to go back there.

We drove home, had dinner with my M&D and then headed home. Back to work...maybe that's what's making me sick?

What did we do?

2007-10-22T09:38:00.000-04:00

I'm trying hard to remember this past weekend. It's only Monday at 9:30am and it's already a blur.

Friday night - Big J taught, Lil J and I hung around the house

Saturday - Big J taught until 4:30, Lil J and I went to the Festival Flea Market. He walked through the entire place just holding my hand and that was a lot of walking. We had lunch at McDonalds. How many toddlers do you know who prefer apples, grapes and lowfat yogurt over chicken nuggets and fries? I know one. Mine! He fell asleep on the ride home so I drove around a little more so he could get a decent nap in. Then we watched Indiana football until Big J came home. Then we watched Miami squeek out a win over FSU. Big J got so excited that he was yelling and made Lil J cry hysterically. It was soooo sad.

Sunday - Big J went fishing, Lil J and I picked up H&J and went to the Taste of Lexus. It's an event sponsered by Lexus where you can drive any of the cars they have around courses in a parking lot. I drove the Hybrid SUV and the convertible. I would have liked to drive the $104,00 luxury LS sedan but it was too hot, too crowded and too disorganized. Afterwards, we went to Tutu and Grandpa's. Lil J ran into their apartment looking for his PopPop who's 90 years old.

Sunday night - Took Lil J to the mall for new sneakers at StrideRite. I have no problem buying him the cheap ones from Payless but they fall apart before he out grows them. This time, we found some cute ones at StrideRite that were on sale ($30 instead of $45). Hopefully, they'll last longer than the Payless ones. Then we took some pictures of him at Sadie's in a Nascar scene. Not a fan of Nascar at all but he looked so cute sitting in the car.

This morning, I dropped Lil J off at daycare. He's moved up to the 2B classroom and he cries when I take him in. He says, "Mommy, I no like this room." It's so sad because his friends are in that classroom and he needs to be with the older kids. When he's in the 2A room, he's 6 months older than all the other kids. Most don't talk and still suck on pacifiers. In the 2B room, they are potty training and they all talk. Hopefully, he'll be better by the end of the week because it breaks my heart to walk out when he's crying.

Macy's and the Bra Fitting

2007-10-12T13:03:00.000-04:00

So the Macy's at the Coral Square Mall was having a bra fitting event sponsered by the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. For every fitting they did, Macy's would donate $2 to the cause. I need new bras so I figured what a great time for me to go. I made an appointment for 12pm.

I arrived at Macy's at just about noon and there were a lot of little old ladies standing around looking pissed and a lot of aggravated sales women. I was told to head to a different department because I had an appointment. Well, there was a huge line there as well. I guess they were running about 45 minutes to an hour behind. Lateness and old ladies doesn't make for a pleasant mix.

I decided that I would give it 30 minutes. I figured if they took me 30 minutes late, that would still give me a few minutes to try on some new bras and get back to work before any one missed me. First, a very nice woman (still wearing her clothes from the 80s or Little House on the Prairie) started talking politics to me and she was a "close" talker. Then an older woman came in and was astonished by the line. She was there 50 minutes before her appointment and was upset that she would have to wait so long. OK old ladies...you don't have jobs and you have no where else to be, so shut up, stop complaining and wait your turn.

After 20 minutes, I couldn't take the whining and bitching anymore and I left.

I guess it's gonna be a few more weeks before I have any new bras and I'm sorry that breast cancer research lost my $2. I had to leave before I snapped.

I love this website: Despair.com

2007-10-11T15:52:00.000-04:00

I laugh everytime I visit it. Just wanted to share...

The shirt says "More people have read this shirt than your blog."

Long Week

2007-10-08T09:54:00.000-04:00

So it was a long week because Big J was in Orlando for an HR conference Tuesday until Friday night. Lil J was really good the entire week which made it much easier on me.

This weekend is a blur because it went by so quickly. We were supposed to get together with M&S and their kids and go swimming at Nova but RyRy had an ear infection and a fever. Lil J and I hung around the house, took a walk and waited for my brother to come over with the kids. The kids played together really well and fun was had by all. Saturday night, we went to see the Panthers/Devils hockey game. It was the Panthers opening night and Lil J fell alseep in the car about 2 minutes before we pulled into the parking lot. He's been fighting us to take naps on the weekends and always manages to fall alseep just as we arrive someplace.

So, we woke him up and had a great time at the game (Devils won, Yeah!).

Sunday we went to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast, Home Depot for some crap around the house and Best Buy so Big J could get a new game for the Wii. He wanted to buy XBox 360 just so he could play Halo 3. I just can't imagine spending $300 plus on a game system for one $50 game that he'll play once or twice. Stupid waste of money.

Big J then power washed some stuff in the yard while Lil J and I played in the pool with the hose in the backyard. Again, tried for a nap but he fought it. I finally broke down and threw him in the car to drive him around til he fell asleep. Sure enought, 1.4 miles from the house and he was out like a light. I drove around for another 20 minutes to let him sleep but at $3.15 a gallon, it's hard to justify driving around for an hour. We got back to the house and it was NOT a good transfer. He woke up when I put him down in his crib and that was the end of the nap.

What happened to my little baby who would sleep for 3 hours on the weekends? I have lost my weekend time to myself now.

Later Sunday evening, we headed over to our friends' house for dinner and to play. They have a 3 year old who Jacob seems to like. We played in the backyard in their bounce house and swingset and then had sandwiches for dinner. Then it was back home for bathtime and bed.

Now I'm sitting at my desk, waiting for some work to do. I hate Mondays!

Weekend Review

2007-10-01T10:22:00.000-04:00

Saturday morning we got up bright and early and headed to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast on our way to H&J's. We had tickets to the Miami Hurricanes football game at the Orange Bowl vs. Duke. I hate Duke! It goes back to the 1992 NCAA Final Four Basketball Tournament where Indiana University was cheated out of a win by Duke and the corrupt officials.

The game was fun, hot, but fun. Lil J entertained everyone seated around us by singing the fight songs and clapping along. After the win, we headed back to the care where we met up with G-Man and the old West End Zone crew. It's nice to see that they are finally starting to grow up.

After napping and showering, we went to Scruby's for ribs...YUMMY!

Sunday we were supposed to have the boat but due to massive storms all night, the kind that rattle the windows and shake the house, the fishing trip was canceled. We went to breakfast at Bernies and then headed to Outdoor World to entertain Lil J for a few hours. They have an enormous fish tank there, lots of boats and ATVs that he can climb on.

Later in the afternoon, M&D came over for a visit and then the J's and I went to dinner at Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza. While the pizza was mediocre, the wings were awesome. They are baked or grilled with no sloppy, nasty sauce all over them, just sauteed onions. Lil J was not on his best behavior so we were in and out in less than an hour.

We spent the rest of the evening vegging in front of the TV. Now it's back to work and booking my trip to Baltimore in a few weeks. Big J is off to Orlando this week. Traveling for work just sucks.

Dirty Bathroom Dreams

2007-09-25T09:06:00.000-04:00

So I've taken an unofficial poll and it seems that only myself and my mother have "Dirty Bathroom" dreams. They are very disturbing.

In these dreams, I'm usually running around frantically to find a clean bathroom but there are none to be found. Sometimes the seats are dirty and I'll have no way to clean them, sometimes the floors are flooded, sometimes there are no doors. Other times, it just a big open room with toilets and I can't reach them because they are too high for me. And just when I find a clean stall, everyone is watching me or the door won't stay shut. I've even had a dream where I finally found a clean bathroom and there was no door and one of the neighbor kids that I grew up with was standing in a line to mail a FedEx package at a kiosk in a mall. Why the bathroom overlooks this is beyond me. Then I wake up and have to go to the bathroom.

Last night, I had a new and disturbing dream. It wasn't me looking for a clean bathroom. It was me, trying to get Lil J's diaper clean. I took off his poopy diaper but had nothing to wipe him with, then he started to pee and I had to use my clean diaper and his "blankie" to stop him from peeing on me. Then I started wiping him and it just kept getting dirtier and dirtier...all over his clothes, my close. Then I woke up.

That's a new one for me and I can't wait to ask my mom if she had those when my brother and I were little.

Where Did the Time Go

2007-09-24T12:30:00.000-04:00

The last 2 weeks have been so busy that I can't remember what we've done. We took Lil J to his first Miami Hurricanes football game. We went with my Mom and Dad. It was hot but we won and we had fun. Lil J was imitating Big J the entire time. He'd jump up when Daddy jumped up, he sang along to C-A-N-E-S, he put up 4 fingers at the start of the 4th quarter...all very cute.

Then we had our nephews' birthday party at My Gym. Aside from a splitting headache due to no lunch, we all had a good time. Then it was off to Toronto for me. Left the house on Monday at 6:30am and worked until 7pm. Then we continued to work that way for the rest of the week. I missed the football game on Thursday night at the OB even though I was told on Wednesday that I could go home early to see it. Yeah Right! What about the 10 hours of work you still need me to do?

I got home on Friday afternoon, worked some more and got Lil J. When I went into the classroom, he cried for Daddy. So much for missing Mommy for a whole week. Saturday, Big J taught so Lil J and I went to the park and hung out. We had break-the-fast at my in-laws on Saturday night and it was nice to see all my family. Yummy Jew food too, how can you go wrong. We took Lil J to a Marlins/Mets game on Sunday and despite a little drizzle, it wasn't so bad, still sweaty but at least it wasn't in the direct South Florida sun. Big J and I had sushi for dinner and then it was off to bed, after catching up on last weeks episodes of General Hospital (my guilty pleasure). Man's greatest invention in my book is Tivo.

6th Anniversary Weekend

2007-09-24T12:29:00.000-04:00

Friday night, my friend Alan came to visit. He stayed with us for the evening where we enjoyed dinner at El Mariachi and then hung out in the backyard smoking cigars and catching up. Lil J just adored him, giving him big hugs, knuckles and high fives.

Saturday, Alan and I walked Lil J to Dunkin Donuts because Big J was teaching. After breakfast, Alan left and Lil J and I played in the backyard in the plastic kiddie pool and with the hose. It was a beautiful morning. Later in the day, Alan came back and then Big J came home. I had to pick up H&J at the Miami Airport after their trip to Denver. The flight was delayed which worked to my advantage because I could leave Lil J at home. After finally finding a parking spot, I found them and drove them home. They came back to our house at 8pm because it was mine and Big J's 6th anniversary.

We headed over the the Melting Pot for dinner where we shared the Cheddar Cheese appetizer, salads and then the Seafood Big Night Out. We had shrimp, lobster tails, chicken, pork, veggies and pasta. For dessert, we had Dark Chocolate and Peanut Butter Fondue. Life was good.

Sunday morning we took Lil J to the park to run around the playground and kick the ball on the soccer field. He's having some trouble napping and getting to sleep at night because we had to take his Sushy (pacifier) away. The dentist said it was messing up his bite. After 3 nights of hysterics for 30-40 minutes, he actually cried for about 2 minutes on Sunday night and that was it. Hopefully, we're over the worst.

This week is Rosh Hashonah, my company IT meeting in West Palm Beach and then it's off to Toronto the next week, fun, fun fun.