New York, New York!

I'm originally from NYC, well not Manhattan, but Queens. While I love visiting the city, that is the extent of it....I'm so glad my parents moved us out of there, and I have no desire to move back (although my brother did and has).

When we first got to the city we parked our car and headed out...we took Ave in FAO Schwartz for the first time...we managed to get out without a thing...which kind of made me sad (my first Christmas present was from FAO Schwartz). It's interesting how the employees work the store trying to get people to buy things...handing kids toys to play with.

One employee handed Ave a stuffed animal to play with and when Matt took it away after a couple of seconds she didn't make a peep...the employee commented to Matt how he knew what he was doing. We then took a picture with Ave and one of the toy soldiers out front, but she was kind of wary of the guy....which is unusual for her.

We were going with a very specific mission though: We were having pictures done in Central Park with Melissa (Rachel's sister, who did our pics in Boston in May). Melissa is great and I've so enjoyed having an online friendship with her over the past couple of years. I've always been blown away by her photography, as I am with Rachel's too.

We took the obligatory picture of me and Melissa, but I look absolutely terrible (and HUGE) next to her...hopefully her's is better. Here are some of the pictures that we took in Central Park.

Pictures started off great, then Ave had a meltdown. She was tired, cranky, cold, and just not wanting to sit still....if she was walking on her own she was quite content, but sit her down or hold her in your arms and WAAAAAAAH! Melissa got as many shots as she could. We weren't even out of Central Park Ave was sound asleep in her stroller.

After pictures we walked down to the American Girl Place where my second mission was. I was in my glory in that place! Matt and my SIL just kept looking at me like I was crazy! I loved my AG doll, still do. We got Felicity (my parents are buying her for Ave's 1st birthday since she's being retired) and I picked up a couple of outfits for her that I've always wanted. We also bought Kit for my cousin (from my parents) for her birthday and Christmas gift. I can't tell you how excited I was to walk out of that store with TWO HUGE bags filled with AG stuff.

I pulled everything out this morning and the quality is so much poorer than it was when they were owned by Pleasant Company. The clothes back then were made so well...now they're just cheap polyester outfits that aren't much to write home about. I also found out that the only part of the accessories I need to get for Felicity (since she no longer has the original dress) is the choker and her original dress. They changed the accessories to match the new dress, but left all but the hat and necklace the same. Sneaky!

We stopped at Ik.ea on the way home...we wanted to get new slipcovers for our couch (we have a white and black pattern, which between the dogs and Ave isn't conducive to cleanliness, and the sheets I cover the furniture with are constantly slipping off). We went with the Svanby Brown, but of course they didn't have the slipcover for our armchair, another store further south in Jersey did, but it was already 8pm and we still had a 2 hour drive home. MIL is going to Ike.a again, but I have to find out when...otherwise I have to pay the $25 shipping to my house (which is still cheaper than driving back to NJ and won't take me 5 hours to do).

"And Summer's lease hath all too short a date." Shakespeare

Our "Summer" ends with the first day of August...it's time for work and play is done. But, summer really ends for me with the first of September. That day is a magical one, for the summer months are over and the fall ones begin.

Saturday morning Matt, Avelyn, and I got up, packed the car and headed to Hershey, PA for an overnight camping trip. FIL's family (they're from MD) has been spending Labor Day weekend there for as long as Matt can remember. We bunked with BIL, PP and Niece for Saturday night in their deluxe cabin (ie. running water, toilet, AC, and shower....my kind of camping).

Of course the trip couldn't have been uneventful. On the drive down I managed to get a speeding ticket (my first E-V-E-R!) 15 minutes from Hershey. Matt and I were talking and going up a hill and I wasn't even paying attention to how fast I was going...let's say the cop was extremely generous by dropping me from the 10-20 over the speed limit, to the 10 over the speed limit. As luck would have it, that couldn't have been the last incident (no, I didn't get another ticket).

As we were turning at the intersection onto Hershey Park Dr....the person in front of me slammed on their brakes, I slowed down, but the person behind me didn't and rear-ended me. Yup. 10 minutes after a speeding ticket, I got rear ended. It was a younger girl, probably late for work. I just said "I can't deal with this", so Matt got out and handled it. Our car was fine, but her hood was dented and popped. We had already stopped when she hit us and she was maybe going 10 mph. It wasn't a big deal, but she probably had a few hundred dollars in damage. We just went on our way.

Fortunately that was the end of the excitement for us (and no we did NOT tell anybody about my ticket...there would be too much "I told you so", but in my defense I'm never more than 10-12 mph over the limit (pretty much going with traffic).

Anyways, we got there in time to have lunch. The kids (this place is an IF'er nightmare!) were running everywhere...Ave was content to be passed around. Matt, SIL, and I went to the outlets to go shopping, while Ave stayed with Grandma and took a nap.

We got some great deals on clothes for A, and some things for gifts for my cousin who is having a boy in November. Gymbor.ee, Child.ren's Place, and Car.ter's were all on sale, plus and additional 20-40% off your entire purchase. We didn't go crazy, but did get some things we needed (a snow suit for A), clothes for our NYC photo shoot, and some other necessary outfits (onesies and such).

After dinner we all headed to Chocolate World (a family tradition) to go on the ride and to get ice cream. We didn't go on the ride, because it was a 45 minute wait and it was already almost 7 (the kids' bed time was approaching), so we just went and got ice cream. Yes, we did give A her first taste of ice cream at 10 months old. She didn't know what to make of this cold, melty stuff in her mouth at first, but she liked it...we only gave her a few small bites and that was all (just plain vanilla, no toppings or anything).

After Chocolate World, grandma took A back to the campgrounds, where she spent the night with grandma and grandpa and SIL, so that mommy and daddy could go to the park. With our ticket we get a preview pass for the evening before....which fortunately is when the park is slower. We got our roller coaster fix in then.

Sunday morning we went up to the IL's camper....Ave had slept the entire night! (yea I can still count on 1 hand the times she's done that for me) Of course I was up on and off throughout the night because Niece (who's cabin we were in) had a bad night, but that was ok, because I didn't have to get out of bed and it kept me on schedule ;-)

Sunday after breakfast we went back to the park with the kids. Grandma sat with them while we hit the one roller coaster that was too long of a wait the night before. After that we took the kids on the ferris wheel (which they loved), grandma and grandpa took them to see a show while the mommys daddys and auntie all went on a couple more rides. Ave LOVED the show! MIL said she was bouncing up and down and clapping and laughing (it was a tap dance routine).

I managed to get stung by a wasp or something....which felt really great, but I was glad it wasn't one of the kids who got it. Then we took the girls on the carousel, which they loved too. Niece had a bit if a temper tantrum when it was over. Since we didn't get out old time picture done at the fair...we went and had one done at the park. It was twice as expensive, but we got 2 pictures (same costume, but a different pose).

We left the park around 1:30, but had to hit up the Chocolate World ride on the way out. This was my Precious Moments Monday....Matt has the original Chocolate World song memorized...the entire time we were in line for the ride Matt kept singing it to Ave...he was so excited to be taking her on this ride...then she slept through the whole 10 minute thing.

Our first family trip (and trip to Hershey) was a success, despite it's rocky beginnings.

"Those that say you can't take it with you never saw a car packed for a vacation trip." ~Author Unknown

This is going to be a long post, so grab yourself a snack and a drink. Here's the link to our album of pictures and the link to the album of EVERYBODY's pictures (password: meadfamily808).

~*~Day 1 - Saturday~*~
We left our house at 2:30am on Saturday (5/23)...I don't think our car has ever been packed that full or ridden that low. Going up hills I had the car floored (it's a 6cyl) and it was barely hitting 35mph.

I drove most of the day since Matt never bothered to go to sleep that night: He got home from work around 10pm on Friday and still needed to pack all of his stuff and finish making some of the strawberry wine he was taking down.

We got there around 3:00 and lugged all of our stuff in to the house; it was nice having the elevator, because we could just load it and drop things off at whatever floor. Of course, I, after sitting for 12 hours, walked the stairs repeatedly because I was tired of sitting still.

~*~Day 2 - Sunday~*~
The weather was awesome. I think we were out on the beach by 10:30 and I was in the water by 11. Silly me forgot to put sun screen on her feet and lower legs and got REALLY BADLY burned; if it had been my arms and back that were burned that badly I would have been going to the emergency room.

We had a lot of fun boogie boarding and just floating around in the water. MIL is as much of a water rat as me, most of the time it was only the two of us out in the water while everyone else sat on their beach chairs and read.


~*~Day 3 - Monday~*~
I was sentenced to the bath tub for most of the day by MIL (an RN). I sat there in cold water with tea bags and wash clothes on my legs, that's how bad my burn was. I kept meaning to take pictures of my legs, but never did...don't know why (but if you look closely in some of the pictures you can see my feet glowing). Not only was I red, but I had purplish spots on the tops of my feet too. The rest of the day I was sentenced to sitting with my feet up.


~*~Day 4 - Tuesday~*~
My burn was doing a bit better, and I was starting to be able to walk again, but my legs still hurt like a mother. I tried to talk to Matt again about the drinking, but he wasn't ready to listen.

In the morning Matt and I drove to the grocery store and to check out a bagel place that my aunt and uncle recommended (it was really good, but I was flabbergasted at the price per lb of their cold cuts - Almost double what we charge, and it was Boar's Head-boooooo!).

We also had our Baby Sprinkle that day. 

We did get quite a bit of stuff: I'll have to take pictures of the stash later, because MIL had to bring it home in her van, we didn't have any room. It was beyond surreal and more than uncomfortable to be having a shower. Even though it was for me, it still hurt just as much as any other shower I've gone to while TTC. It was really hard opening all of those baby things, I had to keep reminding myself that we are going to, FINALLY, have a baby.

In the evening it was the grandkids turn to cook dinner, and it was Matt's grandfather's 80th birthday: Matt and I cooked pulled pork, hush puppies, and cole slaw. It was really good.

~*~Day 5 - Wednesday~*~

We had our massages. The lady arrived around 8:45 and I was in at 9:00. It was nice: Matt was really happy with his massage. She did side massages with me...I definitely like my regular massage lady better, but I think that's more because she's comfortable with me and knows how I like my massages, so she isn't afraid of hurting me. Quite all right, I appreciate this lady's conservative approach.

I honestly can't remember much of what we did on Wednesday, other than spend a lot of time on the beach. The cold ocean felt really good on my legs/feet. I did manage to finish my projects (which I hope to be unveiling soon) and got them all boxed up and ready to mail on Thursday.

~*~Day 6 - Thursday~*~
Matt and I drove down to the south end of Topsail, so that I could show him some of the other houses that I've stayed in. We also got my package mailed out and checked out my favorite gift shop. Matt and I had agreed before hand that we weren't going to spend a ton of money on t-shirts and other stupid souvenirs, instead we bought this... and then Matt bought a t-shirt anyways. When I get around to it, that t-shirt quilt is going to be HUGE! That boy has more t-shirts than I have entire articles of clothing (including socks and underwear)! We also got a small ornament for our Christmas tree (which is what we always do).

In the afternoon we went out swimming and Matt's grandparents really wanted to go in the ocean, but neither are steady on their feet, so we took them out. Matt and his cousin, D, helped them in and out of the water. They really enjoyed it; the only way we got Matt's grandma out was by telling her it was cocktail hour.

We also worked a bit on a sand castle. I didn't end up doing too much of it, but Matt's cousins did an awesome job. I think they spent a good 5 hours working on it. It was still standing when we left on Saturday morning.

~*~Day 7 -Friday~*~
Our last day at the beach: A storm had come through Thursday night and really kicked up the sand and seaweed, which meant that your suit was getting filled with yuckiness. We went out for a bit, but just getting past the breakers was a lot of work. I was out about 30 minutes, before I decided I'd had enough. Matt and his cousins stayed out a lot longer, they were fooling around with an inflatable boat they had boat.


When we got back some of the cousins were "trying" to start dinner, but none of the leftovers went with what was on the menu...seafood (s'rimp and crabs). Back out I went to the grocery store to get some fixin's for salad and pasta (Matt [r] and his brother enjoying their crabs).

While I was gone they started going crazy on the fridge, throwing out a ton of stuff that we hadn't eaten, no one would eat, or had gone bad. They had to do it while the moms/aunts were still outside otherwise we either would've had to eat everything or take it home.

That night we started packing up our stuff and getting laundry done, then it was bed, and soon time to get up and get on the road.

~*~Day 8 - Saturday~*~
Saturday we were up at 6am, and had the car loaded and on the road by 8:30. We drove straight through, except for bathroom breaks and got home around 9pm. It was so nice to be home and in my own bed. I'd had enough of the hard mattress at the beach and sandy sheets (ever notice that no matter how hard you try there's always sand!).

That was our trip. Bye Tops'l Island: I hope to be back soon!

Coming to you from the sand and surf....

We're here: I haven't been here in about 6 years I think, the first time I was here I was 10 3/4 years old ....but I remember every reason why I love it. It doesn't seem to bother me that I've only had about 7 hours of sleep since Friday morning. I am here, Matt's here, and we're at the ocean.

It looks like it's going to be a beautiful day. Right now I'm just sitting on my private deck, listening to the wave and watching the sun move across the sky. Yesterday, MIL, Matt and I were the first, and only, ones in the ocean. I can't wait to get back out there. Last night FIL, Matt and I sat in the "Theater room" (100" projection screen) and watched "Quantum of Solace" (I must say it's pretty cool having a theater in your house.

We went for a walk in the evening, Matt and I, and MIL and a few cousins. Anyways, today looks like it's going to be beautiful, the sun is up, the sky is relatively clear, the waves are crashing :-) I'm a happy girl

"Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower." ~Hans Christian Anderson

Saturday I had my first pregnancy induced emotional breakdown: I burst into hysterical tears because our house is trashed and the kitchen floor was disgusting. Matt brews his beer, but never really mops the floor when he's done....so there are these dried puddles of beer, throw 2 dogs into it, and you've got sticky hairy puddles on the floor.

I kept saying to Matt that we needed to clean the house and he would just kind of brush me off with "Yay, I know"....and I burst into hysterical tears. He just stood there looking at me. At that moment my mom and sister walked in and they all just stood there and laughed at me....I was laughing too, because I knew how ridiculous I was.

I had the morning off and went to the farm stand that we go to (45 minutes away). I got a couple of bags of dirt, as well as five baby chicks, a couple of plants, and some fruit that my mom asked me to pick up.

On to the chicks: We got 3 Rhode Island Reds and 2 Plymouth Barred Rocks. Hopefully they'll be laying by the end of August.

Sage and Thyme are not too impressed with them. Thyme kind of looks at them and wanders of, but Sage is very much obsessed with them...I'm not sure if it's their chirping, the smell, or just the fact that there are BIRDS in the house (Sage LOVES birds).

In the afternoon I ended going to the store and working for a few hours to give my mom a break, or really, so that she could go home and do some bookkeeping. It never seems to end...I think we're all starting to get worn down with working so many hours. I'm glad that we're getting a week off, but I'm seriously starting to feel bad about leaving my parents alone for a week.

Saturday evening we went to a concert in our town; We're very fortunate to have a theatre...there are several groups that work together to bring different musical groups to our theatre and they are almost ALWAYS excellent. I've often said that if I ever win the lottery I will be paying whatever is needed to restore this old building. The history of this building is so cool! Teddy Roosevelt actually gave a speech here.

Anyways, the groups that we saw were Jay Ungar & Molly Mason and Liz Carroll & John Doyle. You've probably heard Jay Ungar & Molly Mason, they actually have a song on the Legends of the Fall soundtrack. Another famous song of their's is "The Lover's Waltz", which we had played at our wedding...it is one of the most beautiful and perfect waltzes out there.

Sunday morning we skipped out of church (this is the first weekend, that I don't have to do bulletins-someone else is now doing them...yay!). We didn't get out of bed until 10:30...it was quite nice to not have to rush around for once.

I did some stuff around the house, planted some seeds, we worked on cleaning...the house looks a bit better, but there's a long ways to go still. In the afternoon I laid on the couch and watched "Harvey" while Matt started trimming the trees along our property so that we can get started on the fence soon. In the evening we went to my in laws for dinner.


I've started my list of questions for the doctor next week, as to what I can and cannot do in NC. I've already started having people (MIL was an OB nurse for 25 years) telling me I what I can't do. I'm generally a very active and self-reliant person, but I know not to push myself. If I feel comfortable doing something (gardening, lifting etc) I'm going to do it. So, I figure it's best just to ask the doctor and that way I can just answer that my doctor says "XYZ".

I'm really looking forward to NC.

"In the depths of every heart, there is a tomb and a dungeon, though the lights, the music, and revelry above may cause us to forget their existence, and the buried ones, or prisoners whom they hide. But sometimes, and oftenest at midnight, those dark receptacles are flung wide open. In an hour like this, when the mind has a passive sensibility, but no active strength; when the imagination is a mirror, imparting vividness to all ideas, without the power of selecting or controlling them; then pray that your griefs may slumber, and the brotherhood of remorse not break their chain. - Nathaniel Hawthorne

We're on our way to NH to visit Matt's brother and his wife in their new house. This afternoon we're making a trip to Salem, MA...city of witch hunts and all things dark. I'm sure I'll have lots of pictures to share with you.




Have a good weekend!

Home Sweet Home!

I'm not much of a going-away person; I'm definitely one of those who would rather stay put than go away overnight. This weekend was no different. Surprise! Surprise! At 7:00pm last night I was ready to drive home from C.orning, NY. Alas, we had already booked our $60 room at the lovely Budget Inn (it wasn't that great of a place...definitely don't think I'll be going back).

It was my fault. I thought there was more to do in C.orning, but I was sorely mistaken. All the shops were closed by 6:00pm and there was nothing else going on and no other towns nearby.

Saturday morning we got up at 7am and drove the 2 hours to the C.orning Museum of Glass. We had a 10:00am appt to make our own glass ornaments; we had decided to each make one for our mom's for Christmas, and then made one for ourselves (we collect them whenever we travel someplace).

The class was cool and our ornaments came out really neat (will post pictures later). We walked around the museum for a while and had lunch in their cafe, which was surprisingly good. There was some beautiful artistic glass pieces and some really elaborate pieces that made you wonder "Who the heck would pay money for that?!"


After lunch we drove up to Ke.uka Lake, which is one of the Finger Lakes. Of course, this region is extremely well known for it's wines, so we decided to stop at Dr. Franks. Oh My Goodness! Let me just preface this by saying that I am not a drinker: Beer, Wine, Hard Liquor; I really don't like any of it. Dr. Franks was DELICIOUS! I could gladly sit down with a glass of their Gewurztraminer (2006) and some cheese and be in heaven! And the views were just as wonderful!

In the early evening we drove back to C.orning and went to the Gaffer's for dinner: Chicken Taco Dip as an appetizer, I had grilled chicken with Caesar salad, and Matt had pork medallions with a rosemary demi. It was all very good, and I would definitely go back there again.

We walked around downtown C.orning hoping to see some action, but there was nothing. The whole town, outside of the bars, was dead at 6:00pm. There was a square with a fountain and a stage we waited thinking that may be they would have some kind of music, but nothing happened. Finally we just went back to our room and watched TV, and lights out at 9:30 (we're very exciting people).

In the morning we were up and out of our motel room at 8:15 and headed to We.gman's to do some grocery shopping. From there we headed back to C.orning to do our Christmas shopping: We got all of the girls done! WOOHOO! And a few birthday gifts for those with fall birthdays.

All in all it was a good weekend. Matt and I got to spend some quality time together and we saw and did some fun things. Boy, we were glad to get home though. We've decided that once we have kids the extent of our travels away from home will be day trips: We just don't like to go away.

Here's the link to all the pictures. I brought my old Kodak and didn't bother taking much in the way of pictures.