Parade

My sister lives on a main street in the neighborhood of Arbutus.  The town has a big parade each year and we usually go watch it.  It goes right down Laura’s street so this year she set up a tent and we all came to share in Alyssa’s first parade.  As a bit of a back story I hate parades that are not in WDW for the same reason as the fireworks…none ever live up!  Well every year my mom would get all decked out in her red white & blue and head to the parade.  Once I got old enough to stay home I stopped going.  My Mom and I would fight each year cause I didn’t want to go site in the July heat and watch a bunch of nothing.  This year I forced Pete into it (he hates parades too) so we could share in Alyssa’s first parade.  It wasn’t too hot and Laura had a sun shade and we sat in her front yard.  Alyssa LOVED the parade…LOVED IT!  She squealed and smiled and watched intensely.  It was cute.  Here are a few pictures and the rest are on Flickr.

She thinks my Dad is soo funny

I love how she is watching the parade and holding my hand

Watching so Serious

Bag Pipers…Laura’s Favorite

Baby & Mama

Old Car

Laughing at the Fire Truck Horns

I love the Wiener-Mobile

She is saying “No More Pictures”!                                                                     Yummy Hand

Alyssa and her Favorite Aunt & Uncle (she is blowing raspberries)

Sweet Baby                                                                                      Kisses from Uncle Petey

Happy Family

Napping

Last weekend I watched Alyssa while Laura, Brandon & Pete went to the movies. Alyssa and I napped the WHOLE time they were gone. I didn’t know until today that Laura snapped a picture with her camera phone before she woke us up!

Fireworks

Last night we went to see the fireworks in Catonsville.  It was a good display, but once you have seen fireworks in Walt Disney Word none are as good.  I did play the soundtrack from the Disney Fireworks to try to recreate it.  LOL  Here are a few of my favorite pictures that I took with the New Nikon D60, and the rest are all on flickr.  Check them out here!

So did you all have a good 4th of July? We went to the parade early in the day then to Laura’s In-Laws for a cook out. I will post the parade pictures in a bit…Gotta load them up!

Wedding Dress

Ok Ok not THEE wedding dress, but this is the dress I am going to be wearing to dinner the night of the wedding and the dress I am going to be wearing at the Baltimore Party….Sneak peak for all of you who will be at the party!  LOL

When I bought it it didn’t fit….Now it does and the top is way too big and it fits every where else.  I am going to need to have it taken in.

Some of my Favorite People

I love kids so much.  My favorites are Ryleah, Dakoda & Julie (well of course Alyssa).  All four of my favorites are going to be at my wedding.  I am so very excited to get pictures of my favorite little ones with Mickey.  Let me just note that I come from a long line of child-corrupters. My mother got much delight out of giving bubble gum to small children, teaching them annoying (BAD) songs, and otherwise making them impossible to control. And in so many ways, I am exactly like my mother.  When we go out to dinner I will let Ryleah sit on my lap and play in my drink (always water) for hours.  I let Dakoda “Cook” when he comes to my house and poor Alyssa that child will be able to get away with murder.  I am so happy that my favorite tots will be joining me on such a special day!  I love them all so much!

 

MY FAVORITE KIDS!

Wedding Planner Woes

My Wedding Planner has been driving me crazy.  I have so much patience and she is testing it.  I expect answers when I email her.  Well she is ALWAYS out of the office.  I get the Out of the Office reply all the time.  UGH!  So I emailed the Director of Disney Fairy Tale Weddings the other day and then followed up with a call.  Amazingly my planner got right back to me.  Thank goodness.  SO I now have answers and a time line as when to expect certain things. 

In other Wedding News….Our Beach Towel wedding favors came in and the are wonderful.  Oh and in case you are wondering 33 is the maximum number of beach towels you can fit into one suitcase.  LOL  I hope our guest love them as much as we do.

I also got the beach bags I am giving my girls as part of their “Thank You Gift”.  They were on sale at the Disney store.  They were better then 1/2 off.  YAY!  We also got a few other things in the Disney Store.  It is one of my favorite stores, but I have self control.  Pete ….um not so much!  He loves it.  I love the fact that he embraces this Disney Wedding.

We went to the mall for the sole reason to buy the groomsmen their shirts and not only did we get all of them, we got our Dad’s shirts.  It is going to be a great wedding.  We are 4 months and 2 days away from the wedding of a lifetime.  It will be a great trip.  I know Pete’s parents are super excited.  They have never cruised before.  I am so glad their first cruise will be a Disney one.  They are truly the best cruise line. 

Today I placed the order for the bridesmaid dresses!  YAY…my girls will be so hott for the wedding.  The dresses are sooo pretty.  They should be here within 4 weeks.  I can not wait to see them in these dresses.  I love them.  I wish I got one for me too! 

I am so happy that the wedding plans are all in place.  We have the Baltimore reception booked, the outfits all set (oh I forgot to mention Pete’s linen wedding pants came in the mail), the invites almost done, the marriage licence ordered, the planning package to the wedding planner…Oh and have I mentioned my Daddy has mad the final payment.  YAY! 

Night of Losers (go us go us)

Tonight was weigh in at weight watchers.  Before we left the house I always try to guess how much Pete has lost based on how he ate that week.  As we were getting in the car Pete said he bets he didn’t lose any weight (he says this every week…LOL)  I guessed 6 pounds.  Well he lost 6.6 pounds and I lost 4.6.  This brings our 12 week totals to 39 pounds for him and 28.6 pounds for us!  I am so very proud of us,  We have stuck to it and we have results.  I love that we have done this without wacky drugs or anything. 

After the meeting we picked up our favorite Brother in Law and headed to Texas Road House.  I love TRH.  It is sooo good, I had picked Seaside, but Pete really wanted some ribs and steak and he sure as heck earned it so we headed to Texas Road House.   

We walked in and there was no wait.  This was good.  Then the drama started.  As we were heading to our seats we were walking in a straight line, the hostess, then me, then Brandon with Alyssa in the baby carrier and then Pete, who was only focused on his very favorite niece.  So we are walking to our seat and who do we pass but my ex boyfriend and his daughter.  They were leaving (Thank Goodness…more on that later).  So as we walked by, me first I just looked straight ahead because I was worried about drama.  Well Brandon was behind me and he had vowed years ago if he ever ran into my ex he would punch him right in the face.  That thought jumped into my head instantly.  So as Brandon walked by his hand was clenched into a fist, but instead of decking him he started tapping me on the arm.  I just shook my head yes (I was like I know, Brandon I know).  So we get to the table and clue Pete into what had just happened.  He was mad he didn’t know what was going on when we came in.  Pete said he wished he would have known so he could have said something.  I said there is no need to start drama, especially in front of the ex’s kid.  It’s not the kid’s fault he messed up big time.  Well Brandon said the kid is what saved his ass because he would have decked him.  He reminded us of what he said in the past about punching the ex out if he ever ran into him and Brandon said he feels even more strongly since he had Alyssa.  So as we sit down I look over and I know right where they had to have been sitting.  There is a table with a empty high chair and food all over the floor and you could tell two adults had been sitting there.  Pete said that he is glad they left because if we went to sit there he would have told the waitress that he didn’t want his niece sitting that close to that man.  Ugh, I hate drama….I just wish he would move away to a different state or stop going to places I am going to be at with my friends and family.  It makes things so stressful for me.  I don’t want drama, I want to put that horrible part of my life way behind me.  When Brandon went to heat up the baby’s bottle I told Pete I was glad they were not still sitting in their seats because I didn’t want a fight to break out or for me to start crying or anything.  I still cry when I think about all that went down almost 5 years ago.  It was a horrible horrible time for me.  I don’t understand why I have to run into him all the time (ok like 3 times in 5 years…but still)…haven’t I been hurt enough.  When ever I run into him it makes conversations start about the horrible ordeal I lived through and I just wish it had never happened, that that part of my life could just be erased.  I wish I didn’t have to go through that pain and I wish my family didn’t either!  So after talking about it for too long we moved on and made our plans for the 4th of July weekend.  I am glad Laura wasn’t with us.  OMG  That would have made the drama worse.  She would not have been quiet and I am sure the whole restaurant would have known all the ex’s business.  Brandon called Laura soon as we got to the table and, yup she was mad she wasn’t there.  LOL

I lost Alyssa’s bottle while we were there!  I fed her once I was done eating and then I left the empty bottle right on the table.  Opps.  I had grabbed her diaper bag, bottle bag, my purse and Pete’s phone and left the bottle right there.  Sooo Sorry! 

Alyssa likes to hold onto your lip or rub your face as you feed her!

Brandon Being Silly

Me and Pete and our Neice

Pool Fun

I called Laura today and she was stuck at her nephew’s birthday party so we only talked for a few  minutes.  She invited Pete and I over for dinner and to be there with Alyssa when she went swimming for the first time.  Well you know I grabbed the camera and we got ready to go!  LOL  We took some pork chops and Laura made chicken and we cooked out and had a great time!  I love when we hang out with Laura and Brandon. 

So Laura set up the pool for the baby and filled it wit warm water from inside, not cold hose water.  We took the pre dip pictures and then We sat her in it.  She loved it.  You can’t really tell from the 100’s of pictures I took.  She is a funny baby.  Like if she likes something she isn’t one to crack up laughing at it.  Instead she studies it hard and intense.  That is what she did with the pool!  She is too funny!.  I laid on my belly to take tese pictures and I am paying for it now. I have like 100 bug bites on my belly!  LOL

Here are my Five favorite pictures, but they are all over here if you want to check them out!

 

After her swim we took her in and gave her a bath and get her all in her Pj’s. Look at these smiles:

I kept the baby and Laura and Brandon and Pete went to the movies. Well Alyssa and I napped the entire time they were gone. We snuggled up on the sofa and fell fast asleep. I woke up with Laura looking over us. LOL Oppsss…..uess who was up ALL NIGHT. Nope not me! LOL

 

Ale Mary…Full of Grace?

 

 

Tonight for Dinner we went to Ale Mary’s.  I have been before, but Pete, Laura and Brandon had not.  Alyssa hadn’t been before either.  LOL  We all enjoyed the food and the guys enjoyed the weird beers!  It was alot of fun.  Inside if decorated with Pictures of old Catholic School kids.  I also like that the food is served with Tater Tots.

 

 

Then when we were leaving we had to step over this while crossing the street! It is such a shame.

You’re the Only One

This song by Keith Urban really touches my heart.  It really describes my relationship with Pete.  He is my only one.  I love this song.  I was deeply hurt by the guy I dated before Pete and it took me a long time to trust him fully!  I am so glad I did because he has made my life so much better then it has ever been.  I just found it the other day and I have listened to it over and over.  You can listen to it HERE!

Or you can read the lyrics below!

Weight Loss Progress

This past Week Pete and I didn’t go Weight Watchers.  He was leaving the next day and we wanted to spend time together and also we had to pack and get  him all ready to leave.  So we skipped out.  Well then it was eating at me that I didn’t go.  It was driving me crazy and I just kept thinking about it. 

On Friday I went to buy all of the supplies for my invitations and there was a weight watchers center in the same shopping center.  I decided to pop in and get weighted.   I am glad I did, I lost a bit over 2 pounds this week and that brings my total to 24.4 pounds!  Only .6 more until I am at 25 pounds!  GO ME GO ME!  LOL

I think I have lost all 24.4 pounds from my thighs.  They are still fat, but they are flabby fat now instead of full fat.  LOL  Oh well, I will just skip the mini skirts. 

My engagement ring is getting too big again.  We just had it sized down to a 5.5 and now I think it is going to need to go down to a size 5.  We haven’t had my wedding band sized yet…thank goodness.  I am going to try to hold off on the engagement ring then have them done together.  I am also going to wear my Great Grandmothers diamond ring on my right hand for the wedding.  My mom wore this ring everyday from the time she received it after my great grandmother passed away until the day we buried her so I think it will be special to wear it on my special day.  I am going to need to get that sized too.     

Alyssa

Alyssa is the apple of my eye!  I love her more then I have ever loved anyone in my whole life.  She is such a  joy and she is the best baby.  He parents sure got lucky!  Today Laura and I got some great pictures of my favorite girl.

This one is my new favorite of her!

 

She is telling me something important here!

 

She loves being thrown up in the air!

Alyssa loves me almost as much as I love her.  We all cover her in kisses daily and I love when she gives them back.  Today she grabbed my face, one hand on each cheek, and then she went in for a big wet kiss!

Grave Yard Gardening

Today Laura, Alyssa, my Dad and I went to the graveyard.  My Dad built a little garden in front of my Mom’s Headstone and then I bought flowers and planted them.  It was a nice day out and we had a good time.  My Dad is a goof ball and he went to get mulch (which he stole from the graveyards supply) and he acted like he was on a secret milatary mission.  Running and ducking behind tombstones and even going as far and rolling on the ground.  Makes you wonder why Alyssa loves him so very much!  LOL

I have mentioned before how the grave yard doesn’t make me sad.  I miss my Mom of course, but we have been going to the graveyard since birth and it doesn’t make me sad.  I go a few times a week.  My Mom’s father died before we were born so as children we would go to the graveyard and have picnik lunches and play while my mom gardened and stuff.  Then as teenagers Laura and I learned to drive here.  My whole family is on one graveyard and I go around to each site to “visit”.

I bought Vincas to plant since they don’t require much watering.  I planted them and then gave them some fertilizer.  It turned out really good.

 

Day in PA

Today i went to PA to visit Nikki and Ryleah.  We had a great girls day.  We went shopping and we made shirts for my wedding party and we played of course.  I took the new camera to get some pictures of sweet Ryleah.  Here are my Favorites of the Day:

 

We Are All Turning 30

Most of my good friends were born in 1978 like me.  Jason, Crystal and I turned 30 in May….Tony in June…Bob in July…Nikki & Ron in December….We are all slowly turning old right before our very eyes!  LOL  Last Saturday Tony’s awesome girlfriend and fabulous Mama threw him a surprise birthday/Graduation (master degree) party!  Pete and I went and it was alot of fun! 

Tony was only semi surprised :

It was great to catch up with old friends:

It was also good to hang out with Tony’s girlfriend Marie. They are engaged, but not yet planning a wedding. We had lots of wedding stuff to talk about. She also made the best Raspberry Lemonade, it was an “Adults Only” recipe.

There was dancing and fun all around. Maybe a little too much since the police stopped by!

It was a really great day!

Bye Bye Baby

My Sweetie left me tonight…….Not for good, just for four days.  He will be home on Monday night.  I miss him already!  It was nice being home alone for the first hour or two, but now not so much.  I don’t have anyone to snuggle up on the sofa with, no one to watch my trash tv with.  It’s weird how used to having someone around you can get.

When my ex and I broke up it was weird.  He didn’t live with me, I didn’t believe in living together before marriage…HA, but he stayed over a few nights a week for a few years.  I broke up with him, and then moved to a new house a few days later.  It was 8 or 9 months until Pete and I stared going out so I was alone alot during that time.  I had alot on my mind and it was nice being alone to work through it all.  It was also nice that my house was always clean and my laundry always done.  Now the house gets messy faster and I somehow have 5 times the laundry, but I have Pete!  He is such a good friend (not to mention husband to be).  He cares about me so much.  We also are such great friends.  I think you can’t be with someone 100% unless you are friends. 

Being at Tony’s party over the weekend was nice, I seen alot of old great friends and it was fun to catch up.  One friend lets call him “Mike”…..was a PLAYER back in the day.  He was my friend and I didn’t hold it against him…LOL  Nikki and I had lots of guy friends….we were one of the guys so they didn’t think twice to tell us when they were cheating on their girls or messing around and what not.  They kept their girlfriends away from us (we hated girls) so it was never an issue.  Then “Mike” got a girlfriend, “Jan”……ugh what a pain in the ass she was.  She wanted me and Nikki to be the “girls” at the party.  Well NO we wanted to be one of the guys with beer in the bottle and dirty jokes and wrestling on the USA network.  She wanted us to sit in the dining room and drink wine and talk about boring girl stuff!  UM NO!  Well she would go on and on about Mike being such an open and honest guy.  How they had no secrets and how they told each other everything.  WHAT a crock of crap!  She had no idea who he was.  NONE!  He was a player, he was dishonest, he was a liar…..He was alot of fun though!  LOL  Well they got engaged and we knew it would never work.  I went to the wedding and had a great time.  Her parents threw a great party.  They got pregnant right away and had a baby right after their 1st wedding anniversary.  Before the baby’s 1st birthday they were separated and on the way to divorce.  They were divorced before thier 2nd wedding anniversary! 

We knew they wouldn’t make it…….People who enter into relationships expecially marriage with a bunch of lies never make it!  The lies eat at you until your relationship just crumbles.

I am so glad that Pete and I have a solid relationship…we have the stuff to make the marriage last!

Corruption of Magic

Ok so you all know of my love for Disney world and all things Mouse!  I came acrossed this article today at lunch and it made me sick.  Walt Disney World employee arrested on child porn charges 

It is horrible.  I do not think that the law is as strick as it should be.  I think convicted sex offenders should not be allowed at places like Walt Disney World!  You should not have to worry if the creepy “Chester” over by the water fountian is watching your child thinking about things like Child Porn.

They say this man has no history of sexal abuse in his past, but I think he is a creepy ass gross man.  What kind of person gets off on seeing little kids perform sex acts on adults? *I am sure I will get some weird hits on my blog for that sentance*  It just makes me so sick.  Plus it is WALT DISNEY WORLD!  It is supposed to be the happiest place on earth, horrible things like this should not be brought into the “World”.  Makes me so angry.       

 

Reception Invitations

Last night Laura, Alyssa and I went shopping while the boys played Wii.  I got most of the stuff to make my “Baltimore Reception” Invitations.

 

These are SOME of the supplies for making my Reception Invitations.  They will be 4 X5 inches with the Daisy on the left then the lime green ribbon will go down about 1/3 of the way acrossed the invitation.  The wording will them be on the right side.  I bought lime green swaroski crystal’s for the center of the flower and will be putting them in lime green envelopes.

Don’t worry I will post pictures of the finished product!

Happy Birthday

I want to wish my sweet friend Michele a Very Happy Birthday!  Here are some Birthday Kisses for you!

 

P-A-R-T-Y!

Tomorrow is my friend Tony’s 30th Surprise Birthday Party!  I have been back and forth as to rather I am going because after our hard core party days he made a new set of friends “The.Union” and I don’t know them.  I wanted to make sure some of my old friends would be there.  Today I finally got a hold of my friend Bob and found out him and another friend are going to be there, so I am all set.  I can not wait to see Bob and Ed’s kids.  It so weird that they are Dads now.  I mean they were my all night long drinking buddies.  Now they are responsible for these babies.  Well actually both babies are around a year old.  I can’t wait to see them though.  I am back and forth as to rather I should take my new camera.  I want to have a few drinks and have fun, I am not sure I want to play paparazzi….Who am I kidding of course I do.  I just don’t want to look like the hired photographer.  LOL

Shrimp Salad

Not to toot my own horn but I make a KILLER Shrimp Salad.  That is what we had for dinner last night.  It was Cheat Night and instead of going out I made shrimp salad at home.  YUM!  I ate until I was stuffed!  Luckily that was the exact time we ran out of shrimp salad.  LOL

Directions:

Steam Shrimp…

1 cup of apple cider vinegar

1 cup of water

3 tablespoons of old bay

2 pounds of shrimp

I add the first three ingredients bring to a boil.  Then I add the shrimp.  I steam for about 8 minutes then stir then steam another 5 - 8 minutes.  Some people say you only need 5 minutes, but that makes them rubbery and raw tasting in the middle.  Remove them from the liquid and let them cool. 

Dressing:

3 tablespoons of the boiling liquid

5 tablespoons of Mayonnaise

1 cup of chopped celery

1/2 - 1 tablespoon of Old Bay

After the shrimp cool peel and discard shells.  Mix dressing and pour over shrimp.  Mix well and enjoy!  I love Shrimp Salad so much!  YUMMY!

Welcome to Blogging!

My Honey has entered the world of Blogging.  He has a new personal blog.  Please go check it out and give him a a big HELLO!

Candle

We got this big box yesterday in the mail.  It was sitting on the steps when we got home from work.  I was all excited since I love mail.  Pete opened it and in side was this Beautiful Wedding Candle from Pete’s Parents.  We are doing a Sand Ceremony on the beach instead of a Unity Candle, but now I want to do the Unity Candle Ceremony at our Baltimore reception.   Isn’t this pretty!  They are so thoughtful and thing about us all the time!

Johnny Depp

Pete and I TiVo’ed the MTV Movie awards. We are watching it now Johnny Depp was one of the nominees for “Best Comic Performance”. He won and I said to Pete, I bet he isn’t there. Well out he walks and HOT DAMN!!! He looks good. He looks 21 Jump Street Good, Cry Baby Hott! Clean Shaven and Sexy as all get out!

2007:

2008:

NEW CAMERA

 

This Morning Pete said to me “Get Dressed, we are going to buy you your new camera today!”  EKK!!!!!  We went to Ritz Camera and got such a great deal!  I also conned the guy into the new Vibration Reduction lens.  We got the Nikon D60, 2 lens; 17-55mm & 55-200mm, we got 2 three pack 1g memory cards, a digital photo frame for my Dad for his Father’s day, 2 learn how DVDs made just for my camera, camera bag, 16 digital photo classes, free prints and free photo book, a new all in one printer, a bumper to bumper warrenty and a card that gives us 6% cash back at Ritz Camera to spend on future purchases. 

Ok well my battery is all charged and I am off to start taking some pictures!  EKKKK!!!!!!

Wedding Brain

I have weddings on the brain (I wonder why??)  Who’s Wedding is it Anyway is running a marathon.  I am loving it!  I TiVo’ed a bunch of them and have been watching non stop.  I love that show!  This morning at 7am….yeah I am an early riser….There was an episode where the wedding was taking place in DC.  The wedding planner that was in charge does alot of Baltimore/DC weddings on the show.  I am always looking for familiar places.  Well today she took her Bride & Groom to SugarBakers.  That is a cake store in Catonsville, MD.  They have the BEST cakes.  Nikki got her wedding cake there and when I was engaged before that is where we had ordered our cake from.  I remember going to the cake tasting.  It was my Ex, my Dad and me.  I don’t even like cake and still ate up a bunch.  LOL It was so good.  We had ordered a sparkly snowy cake complete with Bride and Groom snowmen.  The cake was pricey…Like $9 a slice and I put a $600 deposit down (and lost when the wedding was called off) that was about half the total cost of the cake, but it would have been a great cake.  I can still see the Sparkles and the icy covered sticks that were in the top.  Oh well…..I will now have a great cake with Mickey Mouse and his girl Minnie on top….Plus I will be marrying a guy I can trust and that is way important!  Sometimes I wish I could erase the past completely, it was painful and messy and alot of people got hurt.  I need to just focus on the awesome future that lays ahead of me!

Speaking of Weddings….I have been planning the at home party.  I am so excited!  This is the menu:

Hors doeuvres

Domestic Fruit
Cheese and Vegetable Display
With Assorted Crackers and Ranch Dipping Sauce
Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Carving Station

Beef, Ham & Turkey

Condiments and Rolls

 

Buffet

Country Style Potatoes

Green Beans

Grilled Itailan Sausage, Peppers & Onions

Baked Ziti w/meat

House Garden Salad

Rolls and Butter

 

Desert

Assorted Cheese Cakes and Gourmet Dessert Display

 

Beverages

Soda Tea Coffee

Beer & Wine

 

Now I need to come up with favors right away.  I also need to start on the invitations.  So much to do!  I am excited about it.  I can not wait for this Wedding/Honeymoon/Reception!  I tried on my dress on Friday and it is getting a little big!  I looked so pretty.  I love my dress so much!  It is sooo very pretty.  I still need to get my Crinoline.  I am planning on dyeing it Hot Pink.  It is going to be so pretty!  I also have a bunch of other craft projects to get done!   This wedding thing is so fun!  I love all of the details.  What was your favorite part of your wedding?

a little about me

I was tagged by Cady for this. the rules of the game get posted at the beginning. each player answers the questions about themselves. at the end of the post, the player then tags 4 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answers.

a) what was I doing 10 years ago?
I was in college living at home.  I was planning on moving in with Nikki and Crystal.  We had started to buy stuff for the house and making tons of plans, for both the house and parties that will take place there! 

b) what are 5 things on my to-do list for today:
food, craft & camera shopping
laundry
take a nap
play mario kart
relax

c) snacks I enjoy:
I am not a snacker…..
pretzels and dip
fruit

d) things I would do if I were a billionaire:
buy a new house
buy us each a new car
go on a mega trip
make sure my family and BFF’s never had to work again

e) places I have lived:
Baltimore, Maryland
Brooklyn, maryland
Glen Burnie, tennessee

hmm…i think i will tag Shannon, Shannon, Michele and Lisanne.

Spit Up!

Spit up tastes so freaking nasty!  Last night I was sitting on Laura’s bed holding my (usually) sweet niece and we were snuggling.  I wasn’t tossing her in the air or moving her around.  She had just given me a kiss on my cheek and I was whispering declarations of love into her ear and she turned her head and spit up in my FREAKING MOUTH!  So instead of getting me a towel or a drink what does my sister do????  She grabs the camera!

 

 

 

Roll Over

Look at what my little sweetie can do!  I love how she throws her little arm over! 

 

The Choice NOT to Vaccinate

Pete and I have done tons of research on the issue and we are not going to Vaccinate our future Children.  I know that each parent has their own opinion on this issue.  Just Monday Alyssa had her 4 month shots and after a feverish night and a day or two of her not being herself she seems back to normal!  Thank goodness.  I think it is a personal choice and our choice is not to do it.  There are tons of reasons but these are just a few:

In the past quarter century, the numbers of vaccines the CDCand AAP insist that children must get has increased from 23 doses of 7 vaccines to 48 doses of 14 vaccines by age six.

There are no large, credible studies proving it is safe for all children.

Number of mandated vaccines before attending school:
1983 – 10        Autism – 1 in 10,000
2008 - 36         Autism – 1 in 150

A child receiving all the recommended shots which includes 24 vaccines during the 1^st year of life, is now 14x more likely to become learning disabled & 8x more likely to become autistic.

The very young are at an exceptionally high risk for vaccine induced damage due to their rapidly growing brains.  A child’s blood-brain barrier has a higher permeability to allow more nutrients across as it grows and develops.  
 
Because vaccines are toxic to the body:  the theory behind their effectiveness is that they will stimulate a strong immune response that will be stores in the body:  This is true, however, the catastrophic effects of a powerful boost to a developing immune system are not taken into consideration:  The effect of this:
 
Over-stimulation of the immune-mediated microglial response while intensifying the anti-body mediated Th2 response, causing it to last way longer than it should.  This results in excessive brain inflammation &  tissue destruction as the immune system loses its normal control circuits & literally attacks everything in sight including itself!! 
 
Both factors have been noted in autism, other neurological & auto-immune disorders.

Our culture has experienced a 50 fold increase in auto-immune diseases like juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes type I, Chrohn’s, celiac, irritable bowel disorders, asthma, allergies, etc.  Our children have more vaccines than ever, yet are sicker than they have ever been in the history of mankind.   As a result, the youth of today are the first generation in the history of mankind expected to die before their parents. 

We know that God created our bodies with an amazing ability to heal themselves.  Every irritant, whether it is dirt, dust, dander, viruses, or bacteria are a necessary & overcomeable challenge to our innate immune system.  Like exercise to the muscles, the immune system grows stronger with every natural challenge.  

 

 

The Skinny

Weigh in went so GOOD last night.  Pete is down a total of 32.6 pounds and I am down 23.4 pounds.  All this lost in only 8 weeks.  Go us…Go us…Go us!  (insert me doing the “cabbage patch” from 1990) I am really proud of us.  We have been trying really hard and it is paying off!

At weight watchers there are tons (haha…that made me laugh out loud) of great people. Miss Val, who’s daughter went to high school with Laura, went to Disney World last week. We had talked Disney before she went (DUh!) and I was so excited for her and her first trip! Well yesterday was the first time we would be seeing her since her trip. She got home on Saturday. When she got there of course I was full of questions about her trip and she loved it! Well she had a little gift for Pete and I:

A Mickey and Minnie Bride & Groom Pin. Wasn’t that sweet of her!! Now the fight is on as to who gets to put it on thier lanyards since we are both pin collectors. Actually I will give in and let Pete have it since I got the last Bride and Groom Mickey and Minnie Pin!

Great Idea Lisa

A few weeks ago I emailed Pete and I told him I had made us appointments to get some Tag Moles removed.  He said ok not knowing what he was getting himself into.  LOL  We went to the dermatologist’s office the Day Michele and Shannon left.  The Doctor FROZE the moles off.  OMG  it hurt!  LOL  I would do it again though.  It has been a bit over a week and they all have turned black and fallen off of me.  Pete still has one hanging on.  Of course I documented this with pictures.

 

Pete was much better behaved when it came to the burning off of the moles!

Driving Home

May 26, 2008

Today me and my girls work up early.  We ate the last of our bagels at the condo and started the chores of cleaning up.  We made the condo spic and span!  It was about 10 am when we lugged our bags to the car and packed it all up.  We had more on the ride home then we did on the ride to Ocean City. 

I had decided that we were going to go home through Delaware.  I wanted to show the girls Rehoboth Beach, where my family had a summer home while I was growing up.  I also wanted to hit the Outlets and Snic on the way home. 

Here are a few pictures of the Condo taken by Miss Shannon before we hit the road.

The drive from Ocean City to Rehoboth is about 40 minutes or so. Of course we rehashed our trip and giggled. Gosh it was so great to hang out with the girls for a weekend. When we got to Rehoboth we went to the Boardwalk and got some lunch at Louie’s. I have been having Pizza here since birth. We also got some of Dolle’s Famous Caramel Corn.

We all enjoyed lunch, but for some odd reason Shannon’s sub came out like 30 minutes after mine and Michele’s food. Poor Shannon, the slowest eater in the world was forced to inhale her sub. I tried to wait for her…and I did about 20 minutes, but then mine was getting cold and Shannon told me to go ahead and eat. I hate doing that but I was famished. LOL

After lunch we went to the outlets and I got Pete a pair of swimming trunks and a shirt. Michele got Steven, her hubby a whole outfit for $18 and Shannon got Jon a bathing suit too! It was a fun little shopping trip. The whole trip was FUN!

Well all was fun but the damn drive home! The roads through Delaware go thought little towns and most are one lane. UGH!!!!!! It tool us like 5 or 6 hours to drive a 2 hour drive. It was killing me. I also found out diet Cherry Limeade isn’t as good at the regular one! I still love me some Sonic though. YUMMY!

We were on the Bay Bridge when we set up dinner plans with Laura, Brandon & Pete.

We had them meet us at Gunning’s for, yup you guessed it more seafood. Michele had some more Old Bay and Shannon had a Crab Cake. We all had the famous Cream of Crab Soup. YUM! Shannon and Michele got to meet the new love of my life, Miss Alyssa! They loved her of Course!

After a relaxing Dinner we headed back to my house. My sweet friends had gifts for the baby! Shannon made her a growth chart and Michele made her a Blanket and bought her a few gifts too! Wasn’t that sweet of them! They posed with pictures of my Sweetie too.

Laura had to get Brandon home since he wasn’t feeling good so our visit was cut short. I got my girls loaded up and we did a mini tour of Baltimore. We went to my work, Charm City Cakes, the Washington Monument, the Basilica and the downtown area. Along with a drive through Fells Point and Federal Hill.

Boy was I tired after that. It was pretty late so we headed on home and I made the girls CD’s of all of our pictures and then we all headed to bed! What a full day!

May 27, 2008

This Morning Michele and I drove Pete to work and then we came home and woke Sleeping BeautyShannon up!  She was ready to go in no time flat and we set out to find breakfast!  We went to Cookie’s City Line Dinner.  It is a favorite of Pete and mine.  We haven’t been since joining Weight Watchers.  Boy was he jealous.  :)  The girls liked it.  I was getting sad knowing our Wild Weekend of Fun was coming to an end.  We stopped by My Dad’s house and picked up Alyssa.  I was watching her the rest of the day.  Miss Joyce kept her in the morning.  Alyssa is lucky she has so many people who love her.  When we got home Shannon and Michele and I exchanged sad goodbyes and then poof my girlies were gone! 

So Princess and I snuggled up on the sofa and napped away our sadness for the rest of the afternoon!

5 Months

Only five months to the day until we elect a new Presidentget married on a tropical Island surrounded by our best friends!

Surfin’ USA (or Ocean City, Maryland)

Sunday - May 25th

Today we had bagels at the condo for breakfast and then we headed up to the beach.  Nikki had called and we joined her and Jason and Ryleah up near their condo.  It was PERFECT weather.  Michele, Shannon and I are the three whitest girls in the world.  We all sunblocked up before we hit the beach.  The water was FREEZING but Ryleah didn’t mind.  She is the only child I know who wants the waves to hit her in the face!  SOOO funny! 

We made sand castles (Cinderella lives in them) and we swam and soaked up some sun. Some of us got a bit much since they didn’t ask for help coating their back, I won’t mention who that was  ….cough…cough…..Michele!

Look at her back turning bright red!

After the beach we went up to Nikki’s condo to talk and hang out. It was great for the girls to get together and get to know each other some, since we all have a big vacation planned together in November! Ryleah crawled up on my lap and took a nap for about an hour. So sweet! I don’t know if I have ever mentioned it (HAHA) but I love this little girl so so very much! She is the best!

After leaving Nikki’s we headed home for a rest and to shower for dinner. We had it planned we were going to go to Greenwood Farms for dinner. It is this little restaurant outside of Ocean City that my family has been going to for YEARS and YEARS. They serve all homemade food with the sides all served family style. The tree of us all got the seafood platter. I choose to get my shrimp fried, and the other girls had theirs broiled. We all loved it and it was $2 off each dinner because we had coupons. LOL

When we walked into the restaurant I head this little voice say “LISA, HI LISA, I HAVE CHICKEN NUGGIES LISA”….LOL Nikki and Jason were there eating too. Like I said my family (Nikki included) have been eating here for years! Ryleah was excited to see me. We were not sitting near them, but all during dinner I kept hearing my name. Ryleah came down and sat at my table for a bit and we got the AWESOME picture taken of the two of us. I have only been trying to get a picture (a good one) of the two of us for almost three years.

 
When we finished desert, which is included in your meal, we went out back to feed the animals that live on the farm. I didn’t touch them, but Michele and Shannon did…ewe!

It was still early after we were done dinner so we went up to the board walk again after hitting some gift shops. We people watched and some guy tried to show Shannon and Michele his “Package”. That’s what those crazy southerners get for talking to strangers. We just don’t do that here. LOL

We had a good time and the girls even got some more Chocolate Covered Strawberries. I was good and didn’t partake in the deserts. We were tired so we headed back to the Condo to call our boys, watch a movie and fall asleep before the movie was over (that would be me).

Taken right before I fell alseep!

Up Next…….Cleaning the Condo, Rehoboth Beach & Outlet Deals.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

A week ago……Last Friday my friend Shannon drove up from the Carolina’s to visit.  She brought Michele with her.  They left Shannon’s only a little late and were pretty much on time.  This is HUGE for Shannon.  They got here after a slight scenic tour of the Harbor Tunnel and after a quick potty break we hit the road yet again for a 3 hour drive to Ocean City.  Ocean City is one of my favorite places and I was so excited to share it with my friends.  We had a great time in the car talking and singing and catching up.  It was great.  I was sure to point out to Shannon that we do have farms in here in Maryland.  Shannon was under the impression that we were all concrete here in Maryland.  LOL  She is still not 100% convinced that we have mountains.  LOL  Maybe a trip to Deep Creek is needed for her.

We got to Ocean City around 9:30pm and we headed right to Harborside Bar and Grill.  We got carded on the way in….Now for three 30 - somethings this is a big deal. 

We got seats right away and of course we all got Orange Crushes. YUM! Michele got steamed shrimp and fell in love with Old Bay Seasoning. Shannon and I split my favorite Parmesan Fish. We were all feeling tipsy after one drink….We are such lightweights! We headed to the condo to unpack and unwind! I was asleep in no time!

We woke up early….I am always an early riser. After dragging Shannon out of bed kicking and screaming (nah, just kidding) we all got dressed and headed to the bagel shop for some breakfast.

I snapped this picture of the girls before we left to head to Assateague Island to visit the horses. Pete and I are season pass holders so we were able to skip the LONG line of people paying to get into the park. We seen some horses very fast! There are always tons when ever I go.

We headed to the Old Ferry Launch….That is my favorite “street” in Assateague Island. Shannon and Michele loved the area too.

 

We took tons of pictures. I am sharing just a fraction of them!

After exploring the Island we headed up tp the Boardwalk.  We got some Chocolate Strawberries and rode the tram. 

We rode up and down the boardwalk and chatted. It was a nice way to see it all.

After our tram ride we ran into the cutest girl ever! Miss Ryleah was at the Boardwalk and we hd to get some pictures of her!

Since we were starving I thought I would take Shannon to Booty’s. She loves pirates so what better place to have lunch!

Shannon’s Knee was hurting so we went back to the Condo for a rest. She crashed out right away!

After our rest we headed to Bath and Body Works and Bed Bath and Beyond. Then we rushed to my Mom’s memerial tree to watch the Sunset.

It was a great Sunset. Funny Story…..When we got there we asked a guy to take the above picture of the three of us. Then he asked Shannon to take a picture of ME and him. I went along with it…LOL Oh well. It was fun. I feel so close to y Mom when I watch the Sunset from her tree! Look how Big it has gotten. The first picture was from the dedication and the 2nd taken last weekend.