Reunion Weekend

Friday, Larry, Timmy and I drove up to Chicago where we we met my parents and relatives at an Italian pizza cafe that didn't look so good on first impression, but turned out to be wonderful.

Saturday morning, we woke up and had our free breakfast, then drove to a swim meet in Naperville, where my old college friend and her husband and son were watching their oldest son compete. It was neat that we got to see him swim and they got to meet Timmy before he turned one.

Saturday afternoon, we headed up to my dad's mother's side of the family for a dinner. Since we were early, we stopped at Portillo's for a hotdog before we went to the dinner which turned out to be a good thing. The family reunion was a nice trip for my parents especially.

Later Saturday afternoon, we left Chicago and drove to Hammond, Indiana where Larry's mother's family was gathering for a pig roast. We visited there from 5-9 and headed back to the hotel when the mosquitoes came out.

Timmy did not sleep well at either of the hotels, although, I must say the Marriott hotels are a great brand that I'd stay at again.

Sunday morning, we awoke for a free breakfast and hit the road by 10am. We stopped near the Indiana state line at a Prime Outlet mall to take a break, then continued on to Crocker Park where we met Carol and Mike at the Cheesecake Factory for dinner.

Back at home and regrouping for another week....busy, busy, busy.

Printable Rebates and Special Offers

We did the Lipton offer already and are planning on doing the Blue Rhino and others.

http://www.couponswap.o-f.com/online.htm

Cinco de Mania

Our cinco de mayo fiesta on Saturday was a great success. We had about 60 people over for mexican chili and the most mexican dips I have ever seen in my life. The weather was cool and the fire pit came in handy late night. Thankfully, the keg and the frozen drinks did not run out.

I tried to relax as much as possible, but it is hard when you are the host. We saw many people we had not visited with in awhile and it was nice to have everyone in one place. People were very generous in the food/drink they brought and the nice compliments to us.

Thanks to everyone who took care of Timmy, especially Grandma Cesa, he had a wonderful time smiling at everyone and seeing the sights.

The party broke up about 11 pm with the last of the diehards finally leaving about 2:30am. We were out by the fire and it was a beautiful night.

A good time seemed to have been had by all.

Scott Baio is 45 and Single

That's the name of the show premiering on VH1 I think on Sunday. Yes, I am going to watch it. I posted about him a while back after his True Hollywood Story of what a creep I think he is. This should be interesting.

Longo's in Painesville

When will we learn? In the three visits we have had to Longo's Pizza in Painesville, we always say that the service was awful. Fortunately for them, the food is good.

Tonight my family dined with the Habes family for a quick dinner. It was over 100 degrees in the dining room. We waited 20 minutes for drinks and over an hour for a couple of pizzas and salad.

The dining room was filled with hungry families and one family even walked out. At one point, our waitress started crying in the kitchen.

We finally ate, the kids were good and we left, breathing in the fresh air outside.

I'll let you know if we go back.

Hilton Head Vacation

Well, we survived Hilton Head Island for vacation. We were gone for 9 days. The drive down was easy. We drove 12 hours down to Orangeburg, South Carolina, just an hour and a half out of Hilton Head. Saturday morning, we woke up and had breakfast and headed into town.

Our villa was nice, small, but nice. We were close to the pool and beach, just down the parking lot, very convenient. The pool was the largest on the island so though it was the 4th of July week, it never felt crowded. The first day the water was warm, like bathwater, but after that, it was cooler and refreshing. Timmy loved the pool and the beach.

We had friends down there and were happy to go to their condo for 3 of our 9 nights for dinner. They grilled out and we contributed to each meal. We went out for 2 for 1 margaritas and to the oceanfront tiki bar with Timmy, he was a champ and was perfectly behaved. We never had to leave the table or get up anytime we went out because he is so used to being out and about.

The nights were tough on us though. Timmy was never comfortable in the pack and play we set up in the living room of the condo. He was up every night at 3:00am crying to be held. Since we have been back, he has had a tough time adjusting back to bedtime. He wants to be out of his crib and crawling when it is time for bed.

All in all, we had a nice vacation, but it wasn't the total rest and relaxation that I really needed. More updates later.