SPRINKLER PARK

It was so hot that I took my niece Nevaeh to the local Sprinkler Park yesterday.

She absolutely loves it there!

WATER BALLOONS AND LOBSTER

This past Sunday was so nice out that I decided to take a ride up to my parents house. My Mom's being telling me that the Strawberries are starting to come in and they had plenty to share. When I got there my Parents were outside watching Nevaeh play in her pool and within in no time my both of my sisters, my nephew Jonathan and my niece Savahna all showed up. Danni had a bucket of water balloons in tow!

Nevaeh was so funny. When she got hold of the hose, watch out. She completely soaked me and my Mom numerous times but it was so hot out it was all in good fun!

I spent over 10 hours straight outside with the kids while my sisters went and did various things in the house. I really did have a blast but went home with a wicked sunburn, I know better but didn't even think about sunblock. It is now a standard in my purse so this doesn't happen again!

One of the best parts of the afternoon is when one of the neighbors stopped by with a huge lobster he had won in a shoot. I guess he won a few of them and wanted to share since my dad had helped him with something the previous week.

The lobster was so good! What a treat!! Mom boiled it up and then Dad chopped it all up and removed me outside. Boy I bet my Mom was glad it wasn't in the kitchen because it caused a huge mess. Afterwards since there were so many of us I suggested they make a lobster salad and get some rolls and we could all have a sandwich!

Yummo!!!

ROCK CATS VS METS 8-3

We took in another minor league baseball game yesterday. I treated some of the family to the game for their birthdays.

Happy Birthday Dave & Saram!!

It was a real fun time. We took my niece for the first time. She just turned two this past May so was still a little young. She was good for the most part and didn't get antsy till the end. The good thing about New Britain Stadium is the always have various things going on for the kids!

This was the view from our seats!

Adam, Saram, Nevaeh, and Dave

Savahna and Alexis

Nevaeh loved Sandy the Lion. She thought it was a big cat so she kept on saying "Kitty" over and over again. The mascots roamed the entire game and whenever Sandy came near us she would shriek in excitement and then of course cry when he left. Sandy was real good with her and played with her for a while. She would jump and then wait for him to jump and then laugh like crazy. Whomever was in that costume did an excellent job with her!

Nevaeh was trying to pet the "kitty".

She succeed a few times and he didn't even notice hahaha!!

BLUNT PARK 7-6

Sorry I'm a little late posting this but the past week has been really weird for me. Anyways after returning from the Cape last Sunday, my sister and I took my niece over to Blunt Park to meet up with the rest of the family. The guys had four softball games to play due to rain make-ups so we went to watch them and play with the kids. There's a pretty nice playground right by the field and we had a great time playing around!

Danni and Nevaeh

Nevaeh

JJ and Nevaeh

Nana and Tai-Tai

Tai-Tai

4TH OF JULY WEEKEND

I originally had no plans this weekend but that changes and it turned out to be an awesome time!

Earlier in the week my sister Danni headed down to the Cape for the week with Dave and Nevaeh. My parents have a second house on the Cape so they were staying there. I was invited to go but declined because Mia is in heat again and I was afraid if I left she may get mad and spray around the house.

On Thursday Danni called to see if I had changed my mind but I hadn't. She said that my parents were heading down for the weekend and also Dave's brother Adam, his wife Saram, daughter Savahna and Saram's brother Nick were going to be there. I still said no. I woke up around 5am on Friday and couldn't sleep so I spontaneously packed a bag and decided to go for the weekend.

It turned out to be alot of fun although it did rain all day Saturday. Here are a few highlights from the trip....

Self Pic of Me

My Mom and Nevaeh

Dad digging for Crabs and Hermit Crabs

Nevaeh checking out her finds

Nevaeh and a Hermit Crab

Nevaeh

Danni and Nevaeh

Hermit Crab

Bubbles!

Danni and Nevaeh

WEEKEND UPDATE

The last three days I've been so busy that I haven't had time to get on the intranet which means I haven't posted anything of course.

Friday I went for a manicure and pedicure and then headed to do some errands at a nearby mall. My first stop was Petco to pick out a carrier for Mia. Her appointment to be spayed is July 18Th and I need something to transport her there. I found one that was the perfect size for $26.99! They usually range around $50+ so I got pretty lucky on that one!

My second stop was Yankee Candle. I was almost out of the tarts which I burn daily plus I had seen a $10/$35 coupon on another blog. I was very surprised to find that their big summer blowout sale was going on. I got 20 tarts and 1 large size candle and I paid $26.25 with the tax!

Woot Woot!!

My third stop was at Costco to pick up the pictures I had ordered via intranet. I hadn't really printed anything from the past year so I ordered it all it once....800 + prints! I just wanted to do it and get it over with. The bill was $159 :(

I stopped over at Danni's house on the way home. We hung out for awhile and then decided to go to Walmart together. I got some stuff for the house I needed like a carpet runner, cupcake pan, salad spinner, camera case, and 2 new waste baskets because my apartment complex starts recycling July 1st... Yeah!! I also bought a few groceries and a new game for Nevaeh which of course needed batteries. I only spent $119! I thought I had done much worse so I was excited!

Saturday I hung out at home and finished reading my book and also watched some Baseball. I was really sore from the day before so I didn't want to do anything. My friend Andy brought over Chinese food for supper and we ate that and watched more Baseball.

Today He came over again and we went out and looked at Open Houses all afternoon. He plans to buy one in August sometime. It was a long day but fun! I love to look at other people's stuff/house, I'm not sure why?? I hope I'm not a complete weirdo! hahaha

I also got in more rebates this weekend!

Another for Freighor's Bread $2.59

Another for Minute Miad $3.00

2 for Listerine $3.49Each

That's another $12.57 back!

Woot Woot!!

ALL TIRED OUT

Last Wednesday when I had my niece Nevaeh, we played so hard all day. Nevaeh was still running around the house around 6pm so I gave her a bath to calm her down some and then I figured we could color or watch her Pooh videos until my sister picked her up at 9. The poor little thing was so tired that when I was putting a DVD in and turned back around she had crawled up on my chair and ottoman and fell sound asleep. I don't blame her I was just as exhausted!!

THIS AND THAT

Yikes! I had no idea it's been five days since my last post. I've either been busy or in pain and haven't gotten on here much.

Wednesday I volunteered to take my niece Nevaeh for the day. I need to start doing more things and lifting more weight in order to go back to work so what better practice than to chase a two year old around for nine hours. By the time she left I was exhausted and very sore. I think all my muscles were aggravated. They were just as sore Thursday when I woke up so I rested all day.

Friday I had an appointment for more Trigger Point Injections at 8:15am. I had three shots total and this time I asked him to put one into the knot at the bottom of my scalp. He said it would feel weird since there is no tissue there and boy did it ever. Right after I went next door for Physical Therapy. They give you a deep tissue massage to work the medicine through the muscles.

By the time this was all done I was in pain and wanted to go home but I had to run to Costco. I was suppose to have a two day paycheck deposited and when it didn't show up Fri morning I called our payroll clerk and she said she had forgotten to key it in and would issue me a manual check if I could stop by and pick it up. No big deal because I needed to pick up a prescription anyways(our ins co makes us get them there).

I was pleasantly surprised by my paycheck. It was more than double what I expected. Being out of work so long and living on 60% of my salary, I had completely forgotten what I made regularly! I decided I would treat myself to a manicure and pedicure. My Manicurist couldn't fit me in for an hour so I ran across the street and into Pet co to get a scratching post for Mia. She is destroying the corners of my couches and everyone said this would help(update~3 days later she is still tearing up the couch). I than went over to Barnes and Nobles and picked out two new paperbacks and a Mint Mocha Frappachino at Starbucks. Hey.. I decided to splurge a little on myself since I've been so frugal lately! The pedicure was great! I love sitting in the massage chair and having it work on my muscles. It felt good after the injections earlier that morning. When my nails were all done I went home for the night and started reading one of my new books.

Saturday I got up and had a few chores to do. Vacuum, empty cat box, take trash out, etc. I wanted to get it done early so I could rest for a while since we were planning on going to a New Britain Rock Cats game. I love to go to Red Sox games but they are so expensive so this year I don't think I'm going to go so this was a great alternative. It's approx $27 for a pair of tickets and it's a fun night out watching baseball! Well as it got later in the day it started to pour so we scrapped that idea and decided to try again next weekend.

Even though I really wanted to go I was OK with skipping it since I decided I would get up at 5 am Sunday morning and drive down to the Cape. My parents have a second home there and were spending the weekend there with my sisters and their families. I am not a fan of the Cape and never go but thought it may be a nice surprise for my Dad to drive down for the day and hang out with them.

When I woke up this morning I looked on the intranet for Cape Cod's weather and learned it was gonna pour all morning and most of the afternoon so I decided the 3 hour drive each way wasn't worth it to hang out inside because of rain. So that idea got scrapped and I went back to bed.

WATER BALLOONS

Saturday was a real fun day. My parents invited us all over for a little impromptu Barbecue. It was extremely hot out and very humid so I brought up a bag of water balloons I had and a couple of water balloon slingshots. My Dad ran the hose for us and my sisters and I took turns filling up the balloons. We couldn't do it fast enough for them. We must have gone through at least 200 balloons!

Here's a pic of Nevaeh all ready to go in her swimsuit.

Nevaeh kept coming up the stairs and would grab one balloon at a time and then went back down the steps and throw it on the lawn. I can't tell you how many times she did this, I was tired just watching her. She was having a ball!!

She liked to take the bigger balloons but that's OK because the guys wanted the tiny ones since they flew through the air faster and didn't get stuck in the slingshot.

Jonathan and Nevaeh play really well together despite their age difference!

Jonathan had a blast shooting them off with my brother in law Dave Jr and his son Dave III. It's a three person slingshot where 2 people have to hold the ends and the person in the middle loads the balloon and then pulls back and lets it rip.

This is a view of the flower garden in front of my parents house. They were shooting the balloons up over those trees and almost hitting the neighbors house. It was a super fun afternoon and we all got a little relief from the heat!

A LOOK OVER THE LAST WEEK

First up is my beautiful niece Nevaeh. My sister Danni made her a nice breakfast of mini pancakes with fresh blueberries and syrup. I watched Nevaeh pick up a pancake and then ever so carefully squished it all in her mouth! She is so darn cute!!

"What Titi?? See it all fits!"

As you can all see, Miss Mia is adjusting nicely. She has a great playful personality that comes out more and more each day. She's a great companion to have around.

I spoiled her a little with a whole bunch of new toys which she loves!

Earlier in the week I had read from Andria over at Boy Crazy how she makes these Glazed Orange Brownies and they're a big hit. Turns out it's a Paula Deen recipe and I absolutely love her so I thought I'd give it a try. They came out great!

MOTHERS DAY/NEVAEH'S 2ND BIRTHDAY

Today was a great day!! We all got together at My sister Danni's house minus a few that were either working(Valerie) or had to work early am(Laura) or were celebrating their wedding anniversary(Eddie & Betsy). My Brother n Law Dave cooked 2 Pork Panines and made some Spanish Rice and White rice, I made some homemade Macaroni and Cheese in the Crock pot, Adam made a Pasta Salad and Andy made a Potato Salad. I also brought over a double batch of Homemade Peanut Butter M+M Cookies and a Fresh Tangerine Cake. It was my first time trying this cake recipe and it was Delicious. The entire family enjoyed at as well, in fact every last piece was eaten!! Here's what it looked like....

Happy 2nd Birthday Nevaeh!!!!

This is the present I got her...

A Dora The Explorer Tricycle!

And of course being the responsible Titi I got her a matching Dora Helmet...

Safety First!

It was alot of fun. When the food was ready the men served all the women their plates which was nice and much less chaotic then everyone trying to squeeze into the kitchen to make their own. After supper David opened a bottle a wine that we all shared and then we had cake and did Nevaeh's presents. She wasn't super interested in opening gifts so Mommy had to help her and she was a little scared of the helmet I bought her. She wouldn't put it on but laughed like crazy when we all tried it on. After the excitement wore down I caught her giving the Dora helmet a kiss!

She'll get used to it when she learns she can't ride her bike without it.

So Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful woman in my family and

Happy 2nd Birthday Baby Girl!!!!

NERVE TEST

I just like to start out today by saying Thank You to my many new readers that have stumbled across my blog in one way or another. I've enjoyed reading many of your blogs over the last few months and it feels good to know that more and more people are reading mine everyday. So a big Thank You to all of you in blog land and keep leaving me those comments!
I was excited this morning to find that my tax money had been deposited to my checking account. It couldn't have come at a better time! I have already paid all my monthly bills, done my monthly grocery shopping and had finished my Mother's Day gifts so wasn't in "need" but I had forgotten to get my niece Nevaeh a birthday present. She is turning 2 on Monday however we are combining her birthday party with Mother's Day on Sunday since the whole family will be together anyways.
I've been wanting to get to Target lately to check out their grocery prices. I have read from many of you some good deals you can get there so I wanted to check it out for myself. I did get 2 boxes of Kraft Live Active cereal for 98cents! I had printed out 2 coupons for $3off each so this was a pretty awesome deal. Other than that I just got birthday stuff. I can't tell you guys what a got for her just yet since my sister Danni reads this blog and I don't want to ruin the surprise. I'll tell you about it on Monday and post some pics. I hope Nevaeh likes it!! As I was checking out I heard someone call my name and turned around to be surprised by an old high school friend I couldn't believe he recognized me but he said I look exactly the same. Turns out he moved back to our hometown and invited me to stop by sometime. Nice to see you Gabe!!
My next stop was a quick trip into Stop & Shop to get a few ingredients I needed to make Nevaeh's cake on Sunday. It's a tangerine cake that requires freshly squeezed tangerines so I needed to get some of those and some cream cheese for the frosting. I've never made this kind of cake before but I found the recipe in a Paula Deen magazine and I absolutely love her and have tried many of her other cake recipes and am always pleased. Danni requested anything but chocolate cake so I figured I would try something that wasn't just white. I'll post pics after I make it on Sunday and tell you guys how it turns out.
Now it was home to quickly unload the car. I had a nerve test at 3 and was cutting it close and it was starting to pour. Once that was done I was off to my appointment. Along with all my shoulder/neck pain I also have pain in the elbow and loss of feeling in my ring and pinkie fingers. Today they were testing my right arm to see if there was a pinched nerve in my elbow. Have you guys ever had one of these??? OUCHIES! The first part of the test was shocking the arm and hand in various places via small electrical pads. This was uncomfortable but really no big deal. The second part of the test requires needles to be stuck in various muscles(3 in neck, 6 in arm, 4 in hand to be exact). Then they send electricity through the needle to see how it affects the muscles. This hurt alot especially the soft part under my upper arm, between my thumb finger, and in the neck. I almost cried!
Of course when the test was over the guy said that everything was pretty much normal. Now I know this is good news but every test I seem to have comes back normal and I'm still in awful pain. So I just wish that one of these tests would show something significant wrong so they could just fix whatever it is that pains me and I could start to live normally again!

PLAYING WITH NEVAEH

If I wasn't already tired and sore enough after all my shopping yesterday, my sister Danni called me in the afternoon as I was putting all my CVS stuff away and said she was in a pinch and needed a babysitter. Well actually she was at work but my brother-n-law was home with Nevaeh and his older daughter Amber was being honored at a reception at her school last night for achieving honors(Way to Go Amber!!) and he wanted to go and Danni wasn't getting out of work till 9 so they wanted me to come over for around 6 and just hang out for a few hours and play with Nevaeh. I was stuck though because I still needed to pick up my friend from work and bring him to his second job and then pick him up later and then bring him to get his car so the only way I could do it is if I went and got Nevaeh around 3 and drag her with me all afternoon and Danni would pick her up after work.

She was so good! I love playing with her even though I defiantly pay for it the next day. Thank goodness she doesn't want to be picked up much anymore so I'm able to have her over without over straining my arm. We spent the afternoon playing with my big exercise ball in the apartment hallway and of course eating M+M Cookies!!

By the time Danni came and got her around 9:30 I was pooped and ready for bed. Gosh I never go to bed that early but it was a long tiring fun productive day!