Christmas at the Fetter's

Christmas evening we spent with the Fetter's at Aunt Pinky & Uncle Charlie's house. They made a wonderful dinner, as usual, and we were all stuffed before dessert got served. We sat at the dining room table for a while chatting, telling stories, and catching up with Christa & Sara since they are home from college. After dinner Aunt Pinky thought it'd be fun to play a game so we pulled out Trivia Pursuit, the 80's edition. It was guys vs gals. The gals felt like we were cheated because 2 of the 5 of us weren't above 2 yrs old in the 80's. The guys did win but the gals held our own. It was a lot of fun and we had lots of laughs while we played. Brian looked out the window and saw that it was starting to snow, so that was cool to have a white Christmas. We had a very nice time with the family!

Christmas morning

Christmas morning was quiet, but nice. Brian and I got each other a bunch of clothes and shoes that we each needed. Jadie, Autumn, and Harvey had fun lounging out with us all morning while we opened our gifts and ate breakfast. We stayed in our PJ's till it was time to head to Brigantine. Another lovely Christmas morning with my hubby.

Christmas Eve at Grandmom's

After Mom & Dad's we headed over to Grandmom's to see our Aunts, Uncles, and cousins. We had dinner and then did our pollyanna gifts. As a kid I always remember the feeling during dinner that all I wanted was to open presents and I could see that look in Livi's face...it was too funny. We had a ball with the pollyanna, as usual. This year the gift everyone seemed to want was the battery operated candles w/a remote control. It was so much fun to watch Livi, Charlotte, Dominick, and Sophia run around and play with their new toys. It was a great night filled with happiness, family, and love.

Christmas Eve at Mom & Dad's

We headed over to Mom & Dad's at 1:30 on Christmas Eve. Mom had lunch prepared for us which we all enjoyed. We then spent the next couple hours exchanging gifts and hanging out. Livi got a real microphone and she was SO excited. She loves to sing, dance, and put on concerts so she was in heaven. Charlotte was so fun to watch this year because she's really starting to understand presents and the fun of opening them. It was beautiful afternoon with the family.

Blue Man Group

Last night I took Brian to see Blue Man Group in Philly for his birthday. He's always told me that he'd like to see them but they are never in our area. I happened to find out they were on tour and in Philly this week. He was very excited. The show was very entertaining and we enjoyed it. After we went to grab a bite to eat before heading home.

Pillow pets

This week we went over to Dana & Anthony's to visit for Christmas. We ordered in some dinner and hung out. The girls were amazed that Santa called us and told us we could get them pillow pets! They were so excited and will cross them off their lists. :)

Visit w/Aunts & Uncle

Last night Aunt Pinky, Uncle Charlie, and Aunt Denise came over for a visit. We hung out at the house for about an hour and then went out to dinner for Brian's birthday. They embarrassed him by having the waiter sing happy birthday to him and I was laughing. We had a very nice time with them celebrating Brian's bday and talking about Christmas plans next weekend.

Tim's Christmas party

Last night we went down to AC for Tim's annual Christmas party. Aunt Pinky, Uncle Charlie, Aunt Denise, and all the cousin's were there. We had munchies and drinks while we all hung out chatting. The guys talked about football most of the night while the gals talked about anything/everything, as we usually do. It was nice to see cousin Chelsea and catch up....now that she's a Freshman at Penn we expect to see her more often, which is nice. (They live in GA.) It was a very nice night of family fun.

3rd annual cookie day

Yesterday Mom, Aunt Rita & I got together to bake the Christmas cookies. We kept the same roles as usual....Mom at the oven, Aunt Rita w/the SuperShooter and I decorated. It seems to work perfectly so why mess with it? We ordered Primo's hoagies and were just girly all night as we chatted about anything/everything. I love that I'm a part of this fun new tradition....It's my special time with the two of them and I love every minute of it. Maybe we'll have to bake cookies for "Christmas in July" so that we don't have to wait a whole year to do it again. :)

Banana Bread

I don't have a baking speciality. I don't bake cookies or chocolate covered pretzels like make people do this time of year. I was telling Brian this at dinner last night and he said we should make banana bread. He said his Mom used to make it Christmas and give it away as gifts. We have his Mom's recipe box so we pulled our her recipe and made a bunch of bread tonight. They are currently in the oven and we are anxious to see if they taste the way Brian remembers. So....it may just be that I have a Christmas baking speciality now. We'll see....

Jadie is a big girl

Brian has been telling me for the past couple of months that he wants to break down Jadie's cage and store it away. I kept telling him no because even though we don't put her in there anymore, she would from time to time lay in there. Truth be told those times have gotten a lot more further apart and I was starting to understand Brian's point. It does take up a significant space in our guest room and as everyone knows...I like everything to be in order and put away in the house. Well tonight Brian did it! He broke it down and put it in the closet. I was worried about how Jadie would react but she just laid on the guest bed watching him. The only time she was concerned was when we took her blankets out of the cage. I washed the blankets and she is now laying on our bed with me...with her baby blanket in between us. Too cute! She may be a big girl now but she's still our baby. :)

Decorated

Wed night we decorated the outside of the house with Jen, Joe, Tyler, and Ryliegh. The kids had fun helping Joe & Brian while Jen & I observed and directed them. Brian says he's not totally done our house, so once he finishes I'll post a picture. After the decorating we went over to Jen & Joe's for some cocktails with a bunch of our friends.

Last night Brian and I decorated the inside of our house. We watched "Christmas Vacation" while we put up the tree and then "Elf" as we did the rest of the decorations. It was a lot of fun and Brian was all giddy like a kid....this is his favorite time of year after-all.

Congrats Antonella & Rick!

Antonella & Rick welcomed their beautiful baby girl into the world yesterday at 5:07am. Gabriella is the baby sister to RJ, Nicholas, and Luca. She will definitely be a little princess and have a tough time when she gets older w/dating since she has 3 older brothers. Or she could turn it around and have them all wrapped around her little finger. Let's see...

Thanksgiving w/the Brigantine clan

On Saturday night Aunt Pinky & Uncle Charlie had the family over for an early Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone was able to attend so it worked out well having it a week before the holiday. We all enjoyed each others company and stuffed ourselves as you usually do at a holiday meal. (ugh...and we have to do it again this Thursday....oh boy! Good thing the Weight Loss Challenge is over!)

Couples dinner

Friday night Dana & Anthony hosted couples dinner at their house. We went with Nicole & Mike and Melissa & Jimmy. We had a variety of appetizers and desserts...along with wine. We sat at their dining room table for hours and hours telling stories, catching up, and laughing a lot. We didn't leave until 2:15am! Wow! It was such a blast but we definitely needed some greasy McDonald's food in the morning....always a sign of a good time the night before. Ha!

Drinks with our neighbors

Saturday night we had some drinks with our neighbors and played Wii with the kids. It's been a while since we've been able to hang out so we had some catching up to do and had fun, as usual. As Jen says, we are getting back into our winter routine of hanging together at our houses, playing games, having cocktails, and much fun & laughs.

Sleepy girls

This morning when I woke up I had an email from Brian and when I opened it up this was the picture. Too funny! Not only are we spooning but Princess Jadie has her head on my pillow too! She's so adorable!

Get together at the Franzen's

On Sunday we went to Rick & Antonella's house with Dana, Anthony, & the girls to watch the Eagles game. Antonella's Mom made us a lasagna, which was as fantastic as usual. RJ, Nicholas, Luca, Bella, and Alyssa had fun running around and playing in the basement while we watched the game. Antonella is due with their 4th baby in 2 weeks and looks great! She has been feeling slight movement in her belly and predicts that the baby will arrive about a week early. We shall see. It was a fun, relaxing evening with friends.

Dinner with the Miller's

Saturday night we went to dinner in Collingswood with Chris & Jamie. They were very excited to have an adult night while the kids were at home with the babysitter. We ate and talked for hours, catching up since we've seen them last. We sure do hope that there isn't as much time between now and the next time we see them.

Johnny's party

Friday night we went to Johnny & Jeanna's house to celebrate Johnny's birthday. We had lots of yummy munchies and some cocktails. Brian played Flip Cup with Johnny & his friends while I chatted it up with all the gals. We had a great time. Happy Birthday Johnny!

A dose of the shore

Corinne and Ryan invited us to hang out on Saturday afternoon w/them and Allison & Kevin. (The JJ's couldn't come because they were at their millionth wedding this year.) We are all so used to seeing each other every weekend from May - Sept, so when the Fall arrives we all start to miss each other. It was fun to see them! We ate yummy appetizers and had ice cream cake for Kevin's birthday. We lounged around watching TV and just chatting it up. It was the dose of the shore that we needed to hold us over for another couple weeks.

Dinner at the Verdone's

Last night we went to Jeremy & Jen's for dinner. Another couple, Chris & Jackie, were there too. Brian used to also work with Chris at Enterprise. We ordered in some really good Italian food and drank wine at the dining room table the whole night, while the kids had a ball playing until way past their bed-time. We always have a great time with the Verdone's and look forward to the next time.

Grandmom's 80th

Yesterday morning we surprised Grandmom with a 80th birthday brunch celebration. She told Mom, Aunt Bobbie, and Aunt Cheryl numerous times that she didn't want a party but they planned it anyway. It was a small celebration with Grandmom's kids, grandkids, great-grandkids, siblings, and a few of her closest friends. She was completely surprised and kept on telling everyone that we are "stinkers." The brunch was huge and the cake was delicious. She opened a few gifts and then decided it was too much attention drawn on her so she decided to open the rest at home. She's too cute. The great-grandkids had a ball running around the place with their baby strollers and checking out the buffet a bunch of times. It was a very nice morning. Happy 80th Grandmom! We love you!

Time with Bella & Alyssa

Tonight I babysat Bella & Alyssa and had so much fun! We played with Lego's, play-doh, a duck game, and snuggled on the couch to watch some iCarly. I brought cupcakes over as our dessert and it was a hit. It was only about 2 hours but I loved every minute of it. When Dana & Anthony got home we had a glass of wine and chatted a bit before I headed home.

What a guy!

My hubby knew I needed to relax so for my birthday he got me a gift certificate to the spa! I used it yesterday and got a massage, facial, mani, pedi, and paraffin treatment on my feet. Ahh!! It was fantastic! I was able to spend a few hours to just veg out and not worry about the outside world. It was bliss! To make it even better, when I got home he had dinner on the table. He knew exactly what I needed.

Where are you going w/that needle?

Last night was Harvey's turn at the vet. It wasn't as hard to get him into the crate but he cried the entire ride to there! I'm SO happy to report that for the 1st time since he's been born he went down in weight. He's down 3 lbs from last year. I was so excited that I told the Dr. I wanted to throw a party. Harvey's weight has been such a struggle for me and I felt as if it was a loosing battle when I went each year and found out that he had gone up, yet again. I've been stricter with his food and did switch the kind of food....and holy moly it worked! I was so proud of him and I told him so a few dozen times last night.

Girls Night In at Melissa's

Friday night Melissa had Dana, Nicole, and I over for our "girls night in." We ate bad-for-you food, had cocktails, and talked until 2am! We had a ball talking about anything and everything. Our nights together are one of my most favorite things to do. As Gram says "we solve all the world's problems" and have a blast doing it.

The crate

Every Oct I take the cats to the vet. I prepare them the night before by putting their crate out in the living room. (They probably run around all night trying to find hiding places for the next day.) Today I came home from work and had to find Autumn for her visit. I had to move a couple couches and use toys to lure her out. With Brian's help I got her into the crate and off we went to the vet. She cried the whole way there and curled up in a ball when the tech was weighing her and taking her temp. As we waited in the room for the Dr., Autumn had enough and jumped into the crate. I was cracking up because I tried for 15 minutes to get her in there before leaving the house. Ugh!

Worked outside

What a beautiful weekend! The weather was just great. We went to Lowes 3 times and the farmers market 2 times over the course of the weekend. We got our pumpkins, mums, and cornstalk. We dug out our very over-grown tree that was next to the garage and planted a cute little tree in it's place. We put about 9 bags of mulch out and got some new stepping stones. I love it! It looks so nice and fall-like.

Dinner with Rob & Ida

On Thursday Rob & Ida came to visit with us. We usually order out but I was starting to fear that Rob thinks I don't know how to cook, so I made a baked ziti. He made some jokes about me cooking because he knows why I did. He brought a great salad with him and we had left-over cake from my Birthday for dessert. We had a nice night catching up. We hadn't seen them in a while and we need to make sure there isn't as much time between now and our next visit.

Happy 5th Olivia!

I can not believe that Olivia is now 5 years old! October 2nd was her birthday and we celebrated it with food, cake, presents, fun, family, and laughter. She was so excited to have us all there and was truly the spotlight of the day. I look at her and I'm amazed at the little girl that she has grown to be. Happy birthday Livi! Uncle Brian and I love you....forever and ever.

Irish Weekend 2010

Three years ago this past weekend is when Brian drove from Philly all the way down to Wildwood to meet me at Irish Weekend. He had been out with his friends and when I was talking to him Johnny grabbed the phone and gave him directions to get down the shore. He met us at Flip Flops and it was the 1st time he had met anyone in my family. So, Irish Weekend does always seem "special," in a way, to me.

We got down the shore on Friday night and just hung in the house with the fam. Saturday afternoon Johnny, Allison, Kevin, Brian, and I headed over to the festival. We walked the streets, checked out all the vendors tents, ate completely unhealthy food, and drank some beers. There was definitely some great people watching! Aunt Rita and Uncle Scott had us all over for dinner and then we went out after with Kevin, Korrin, Michael, and LeeAnn. When we got back to the festival we soon realized that the crowd wasn't a pretty scene and the lines at all the bars were ridiculously long. We decided that it be best to go to another bar, away from the festival area, and it was a great choice. We got into a bar where we could all sit down and drink/eat casually...and hear each other talk. Another great Irish Weekend is down in the books.

Day 3 of Boston get-away

Saturday we went out to the Copley Square area, walked on Newbury St, strolled through the Boston Commons park, and visited the site of the famous Cheers TV show. Newbury St was cool because it was old brownstone type buildings with stores and cafes on the ground floor and homes on the top. We stopped and had lunch at an outside cafe...it felt like we were in France. Boston Commons was full of people and we were thinking it was some kind of music festival. However, as we walked through and observed the people, the vendor tents, and listened to the music/speeches we realized it wasn't a music fest...it was a Freedom Ralley. It was interesting but we quickly realized that we were too old for the college-age audience and we certainly weren't dressed for the part. So we did some people watching and then did some more walking to get to the site where Cheers was filmed. We did a TON of walking that day and were exhausted by late afternoon. We rested and then went to a sports bar down the street from our hotel for a late dinner. There weren't as many history lessons for me that day so I was able to survive on water to hydrate me through the miles of walking vs. the coffee and beer that I had the day before.

Day 2 of Boston get-away

Friday we got up and took a cab to Faneuil Hall. We grabbed breakfast and then started along the Freedom Trail. It is a walking tour where you follow the red arrows on the ground as it leads you from one historic spot to the next. Brian was having a grand 'ole time learning while I, the "non-history buff," asked a hundred questions....including standing inside Paul Revere's house and whispering to Brian "ok, so who was Paul Revere?" He looked at me in horror but calmly explained Paul's story to me. (I wonder if my diss-like for history has anything to do with Mr. Eastwick in high school???) I had told Brian that as long as he kept me caffenated in the morning and got me some beers in the afternoon that I'd walk where ever he wanted to go. We did stop at The Green Dragon for a few beers in the afternoon and I was happy. Apparently that bar has a story of it's own....it's where revolution began or something like that...I'll have to ask Brian for a refresher course. That night we went to the North End and walked the streets of Boston's little Italy. We had an awesome Italian dinner and stopped in another bar for some drinks after. So, I did learn a few things that day.....but the true test is if I'm questioned again I may tell you that Paul Revere was a band in the 70's.

Day 1 of Boston get-away

Brian and I have been in need of a weekend getaway so we cashed in some Marriott points, used an airline credit we've been saving, and headed to BOSTON!! We flew there Thursday morning and got home tonight. As soon as we arrived, we checked into the hotel, put on our sneakers and started walking. Our hotel was on the waterfront. We walked along the waterfront and grabbed lunch at the Legal Seafood Test Kitchen. We took some great pictures of the city's skyline and mapped out a plan for the next couple days. We went to the Union Oyster House for dinner, which is a historic restaurant in Boston, and walked the streets some more before we called it a night...we wanted to get up early on Friday to get as much sight-seeing in as we could.

(Jadie had a vaca of her own....she spent the weekend with MeMe, Gpop, and Aunt Gracie at the shore....she must've had a blast because she's exhausted!)