Memorial Day Weekend

We headed down to Dayton for a weekend with friends and family. We left Friday night after work and enjoyed a pretty easy drive. We had to stop once at the rest area to give CJ a bottle, but were back on the road in a half hour. This was his first long drive and he did pretty well. Savannah will watch movies now on the DVD so she is pretty easy.

We stayed with Jen Friday night. This was also CJs first night in the Pack-n-Play. Once again he did pretty well. Nice to get him used to this travelling as we have a few trips planned this summer.

Saturday morning Jim and Neil went to play golf with Dad. While none of them played very well I think they had a nice time. Jen and I drove down to Centerville to Panera to hang out with the ladies at knitting. We ended up staying there for quite a while. We showed CJ off to a few of mom's friends. Katy and Kathy Utz brought Katy's daughter Lauren. She is 1 month older than CJ. Can you tell by this picture??? CJ looks much bigger.

My friend Sue from EY in Cincy also came for a visit with Sarah. Savannah and Sarah really enjoyed hanging out and playing. We stayed at Panera so long we ate breakfast and lunch there.

After Panera we went back to Jen's for nap time. After nap we headed to the Activity Center to play with Colin and Sarah. Savannah hadn't seen them since October. Thanks to the web cam she has been able to see them somewhat often. It helps her remember them. They had a great time playing on the playground and also in the water sprinklers once they discovered them. Savannah was a little scared, but enjoyed watching from the side and getting a little wet.

We then dropped the kids off at various places. Savannah went to spend the night with my dad and CJ stayed with Mom. Cutler was up with Jen and Neil. We then headed out to Beef O'Brady's to have dinner and drinks with Tim and Stacey. It was really nice to hang out with them again. I hadn't seen Stacey since October. The beers were going down very well early in the evening. So we decided that we wanted to head to the Pour Haus for some Cville Memories. Funny thing is Stacey and I got hit on before we even sat down. And there were only about 20 people in there. Guess they were really drunk, but we increased the average age by quite a bit when we walked in. We stayed for a pitcher and then headed over to the Fox and Hound. We spent the rest of the night there. We really got into playing music on the jukebox. So we sat and chatted there for the rest of the night. We headed home around midnight. Jim and I tried to head to Skyline, but they had already closed. Oh well, probably better that way. I really wish they were still around in Cleveland. We miss having them around. But are excited for vacation down in Atlanta in a few weeks.

I got to sleep in until 10 on Sunday! I did get up with CJ twice during that time, but that way I wasn't too out of it for the family picnic at Jens. Jen and Neil always do great with their gatherings. Both sides of the family came over and we had a really nice afternoon. We played cornhole, ate, and just chatted. We also got a really nice picture with my Grandpa for a 4 Generation photo.

We headed back to Cleveland around nap time on Monday and both kids did great on our way home. So it was a successful weekend. Both kids did really well and it was nice to see family and friends. Now back to the grind. Whatever that may be since I am not working :)

Oh and I was able to capture CJs first smile on camera. I haven't been able to actually get it on camera so here it is!

The rest of the pictures from the weekend can be found at - http://www.kodakgallery.com/neil-jen/stobe

Bargain Shopping!!!

Well most people know what kind of a shopper I am. So being off of work and on the computer all of the time isn't a good thing for me. I just keep shopping! Mind you I have gotten some great deals (A Dyson which retails for 479.99, I got for $250.00!!), but still a little out of control. So I have started using a few websites to help with my grocery shopping (www.thegrocerygame.com and www.slickdeals.net). They help you find out the specials at the stores and make the best use out of your coupons. I shop at Giant Eagle and CVS. Since we do all of our prescriptions at CVS I am always getting $5 off $25 coupons when I check out. So I went to CVS yesterday and purchased the following:

4 12 packs Coke
2 9.5 oz. packages of Dove Chocolate Minis
1 3-pack Dial Soap
1 23.7 oz. Herbal Essence Conditioner
2 Betty Crocker Fudge Brownie Mixes

Total (sale prices) - 30.76
Coupons - (13.59)
Total (minus coupons) - 17.17
Tax - .93
Total Out of Pocket - 18.10
Extra Care Bucks - (8.00) - to be used on any purchase at CVS.
Total - $10.10

Not bad for my first trip! And I got another $5 of $25 and a coupon for CVSs brand of Zyrtec D which I have been needing to buy for Jim. So I will use that next week!

Also I was so proud of myself this morning. Slickdeals.net is a website where people post good deals on items (where I found the Dyson). So I got an email yesterday with a link to the $5 of $25 coupon for Babies R Us. Which is always a big hit. Well I figured someone had already posted it in the Forums but they hadn't. So I posted the coupon. Well this morning I go and it is on the front page of the website. As the hottest deals! Yippee for me. Kind of cool since I am a newbie at this. Check it out - http://www.slickdeals.net/ - It is under the Friday May 23rd deals! I am colemkr! :)

Well we are heading to Dayton for the weekend, wish us luck. It is going to be jam packed as usual.

Weekend Alone with the Kids

I had my 33rd Birthday on Friday. Nothing too exciting. Just a couple of cranky kids and the zoo :) Guess that is what happens in your 30s with two kids. We did go out to dinner as a family and that was nice. Jim left Saturday morning for his annual Golf trip. So I had the kids to myself for the weekend. So we planned to stay busy. My friend Joan from work came over Saturday afternoon for a few hours. It was nice to chat and gossip for a few hours. After Savannah's nap we headed down to the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad for the Thomas the Train ride. Jim's parents met us down there. It was fun. The train ride itself wasn't all that exciting, but all of the other activities were fun. After that we headed to Bob Evans for dinner and then it was bedtime. On Sunday we got up and headed to church because "we" had to greet. So the "we" this time was CJ and I, but we made it there. I was proud of myself that I got up before Savannah and showered and got CJ a bath. After lunch we headed to go see Outback Ray at Playmatters Toy Store. He does an animal show. He brought a snake, turtle, alligator, skink, chinchilla and a few others. Savannah had a good time. She got to pet the chinchilla and skink. We bought a little book and were outta there as it was way past bedtime and she was starting to get cranky. Oh I forgot to mention that true to CJ style he slept through both the train trip and the pet show. Not a peep through either of them. He is still doing really well. He even slept 6.5 hours in a row the other night!

I don't consider myself to have a green thumb, but I was proud of myself. Today I replanted some plants that I got from work when CJ was born. My mom helped me pick out the idea of adding a corner plant stand in the sunroom and get rid of the papasan chair that has been sitting there since we moved in. I don't think anyone has ever sat in it and it was just taking up room. But I think they turned out well. I know nothing fancy, but its the best I can do!

Well I better get off to bed since everyone is sleeping. Off to the gym tomorrow morning for Day 2 of working out!

Happy Mother's Day!

Well it was Mother's Day over the weekend. It was a nice weekend. Friday night Jim took Savannah out to Target to get mommy something for mother's day. Interesting how they returned with a big ball, snacks and "makeups" for Savannah. It was too cute. But they enjoyed a little time out to get mommy a card. On Saturday, Savannah, CJ and I headed down to Jim's parents for a Mother/Daughter lunch. We drove down with Diane. It was a very nice lunch and Savannah enjoyed herself. CJ stayed with Grandpa and pretty much slept the whole time. So that was easy!

Saturday night we went out to dinner with some couples that Jim works with. Savannah stayed with Holli and CJ went with us. We went to Chammps and CJ slept until we were done with dinner. So that worked out well. We stayed to watch the first half of the Cavs game and then headed home to put CJ to bed and get Holli home. We enjoyed some good food and drinks with adults. We will have to do that again.

On Sunday morning, Savannah and Daddy let me sleep in a bit and then woke me to my presents and breakfast made. It was really nice. Savannah and I had tickets to the Indians game, but it rained all morning. So we weren't sure what to do. I ended up taking her down there anyway. Figured we at least try. She did really well. It rained the whole time and they ended up postponing the game until today (which we can't go). So we paid $10 for parking, $10 for lunch, played in the kids land for 45 minutes and left. We did get the free Indians Backpack for going. But it was a nice outing for just Savannah and I. We haven't really had that since CJ was born. Oh and we also stopped and had ice cream on our way home!



So all in all it was a nice Mother's Day.

CJs 1 Month Check Up and Derby Party

Well CJ went to the Dr. on Friday and weighed a whopping 11 pounds 2 ounces and was 22 inches long. That is about the 85 percentile for weight and 65th for height. I went and looked at Savannah's baby book and realized that she weighed 11 pounds 2 ounces at 2 months old! So looks like we have a chunk on our hands. The Dr. said he was very healthy and everything looked great. We go back again in a month for the next checkup. While we were talking I mentioned that Savannah still has some problems going to the bathroom so she had me put her on Benefiber once a day. We will see how that helps. With all the GI problems their parents have our kids are for sure to be doomed.

Nana came up for the weekend. It was really nice to have her around for the weekend. We needed a babysitter for Saturday night so she came to help out. We went to the Garden Center Saturday morning and got a few things for the house. I am really not into planting flowers this year, so we got some nice annuals for some planters on the front porch and planted them today.

We had a 1st Communion party to go to Saturday afternoon at one of our neighbors. It was a really nice time. I felt so bad because it was raining so hard everyone was inside the house.

We then had the Junior League Derby party on Saturday night. It was our first night out since CJ was born. We had a great time. The party had a few ups and downs, but I think in the end it turned out great. It was a night out just the two of us so we really can't complain.

Jim's parents made it back from Florida this weekend. So they came over this afternoon and spent some time with us and their grandbabies. We had dinner and then took Savannah to get ice cream.

Crohn's Update

Well ever since I had CJ my Crohn's has really been acting up. So the Dr. put me on steroids to try and keep things under control. I have been on them for two weeks and they seem to be helping. I was able to take the dose down one pill (from 8 to 7). I need to call back in two weeks and let him know how I am doing. Hopefully he will keep weaning me off the pills. The down side to this is the weight gain. I was so excited to lose 20 pounds after I had CJ. I knew the side effect of the steroids was going to be weight gain, but the first week wasn't too bad. Now this second week all I can do is keep myself from eating all day long. It doesn't help that I am at home all day and haven't gone in for my 6 week checkup to get the ok to work out. I mowed the lawn today and took CJ for a walk. So hopefully the weather will stay nice so I can at least get some walks in. Then when I go to the Dr. in two weeks hopefully I will get the ok to go back to the gym. CJ needs to be 6 weeks old to go into the nursery anyway so hopefully it will work out.

Well tomorrow is CJ's 1 month appt, will report back tomorrow....