Meeting Friends and Beautiful Mansions

Vacation was good, but the GREAT part was meeting fellow TallyScrappers, Gina in Long Island and Tami and Chris who drove to Newport.

Can I just say I was misplaced when I was born in the south? I LOVE New England, LOVE Falmouth, Martha's Vineyard, Provincetown, Newport, etc. and really want to visit Vermont and more of the New England states...New Hampshire maybe? Tami??

Let's see, we made it to NJ on Sunday at lunch time. This was after the previous day of a car sick little boy who was also fighting a cold that I thought was getting better, but took a turn for the worst.

Monday, we took care of some things for Pat's dad. I helped him pick out a digital camera, as he's wanted one for a while now.

Tuesday we drove to Long Island to meet Gina! Gina was so lovely, and she was such a gracious hostess. I loved her home with its beachy feel! She was so sweet to have a gift for Jake and SHUT UP! An ENTIRE box of Yankee Doodles for me. (Inside joke! LOL!) She drove us to Port Jefferson for lunch, and we also walked around taking photos of the sites. Sophia is the most adorable little girl ever! And YES! She is crazy for buggies!

NYC sklyine as we crossed over to Long Island

Jake and Sophia. I had no clue that Jake would love a jack-in-the-box! Poor kid has never had one and loved Sophia's!

Look at this! YUMMY!

Gina and me in Port Jefferson with Jake and Sophia who was having a pop.

Is Gina not beautiful??

Thank you, Gina, for a wonderful time! I hope I can visit again!

Wednesday we headed to Newport, RI. This was supposed to be a 3-1/2 hour drive, but actually took about 4-1/2 because of traffic.

We picked up tickets to tour some of the Newport mansions. The three we toured were just wonderful! I'll have pics of those later. After that, it was back to the hotel. We were all wiped out and Jake and I were more than ready to sleep, which is what we did after arguing over what time to get up, explaining what a wake-up-call was, and telling Grandpa Q to turn the television down so we didn't get tossed from the hotel.

With excellent timing, we saw the windmill and our third mansion and made it back to Bowen's Wharf in plenty of time to wait for Tami and Chris.

I was never so happy to see two people I'd never met walk down a street in my life! LOL! I really was though! Tami and Chris are wonderful ladies and I'd love to live closer and be able to spend more time with them both.

Tami is Tami, just like she is on the boards, on the phone. Chris is much taller than I expected and so bright and bubbly. I felt comfortable with both of them, not nervous at all.

Tami was wonderful to bring Jake a car and two books, and may I recommend Handy Manny's interactive auto repair book? Jake played with it all the way back to NJ! Thank you, Tami!

I also got from Chris the adorable knitted baby rattle for Carson, and I cannot wait to give it to her!

Tami and Pat were very agreeable on what junk food they preferred, too.

We were at lunch here and this was about the third or fourth try at a picture with my eyes open!

My favorite picture!

We figured we'd better let Pat get in at least one shot.

Honestly, I hated to leave once it got closer to 2:15. We did end up going over our time limit though, standing around talking at the car. You'll be happy to know we made it back to NJ before the sun went down!

Thank you Tami and Chris for driving to Newport just for little old me!

Look for more vacation pics once I've finished going through them. These of my Tally friends were most important!

Vacation

This Saturday we are leaving for New Jersey to spend time with Pat's dad and take him to Newport, RI for a little mini vacation. I dread the drive, but I'm really looking forward to being up north. I think I was misplaced, really I do.

What makes this vacation even more special is that I get to meet two really wonderful women that I've "met" through TallyScrapper. On Tuesday, I get to meet Gina in Long Island. SHUT UP!!! Yes, I do! lol! Our plan is to meet at Gina's house and go over to Port Jefferson for lunch and a little shopping. I really can't wait!

Once we're in Newport, I'll have lunch with Tami!! I am so looking forward to meeting her and honestly, I think it will be very emotional doing so. We've talked about so much and I feel like I've known her for a long time already. Just a few more days, Tami!!!

Thank goodness, I'll have Internet while at Pat's dad's so I won't feel isolated! LOL!

Apothescary Swap Item Complete and Upcoming Gutter Girlz Challenge

Whew! I don't think I want to tie anymore bows for a while! Here is the completed project for my part of the ApotheScary Swap. I think it turnd out pretty neat!

Also, on the 15th there will be a new challenge up on the Gutter Girlz blog! I have a little sneaky peeky for you!

Remember! Gutter Girlz! The 15th! Be there!

ApotheScarey Swap 2008

Just a sneak peek! I have a few more touches to add and then they're off!

D-day! The First Day of 4K!

We all got up early and Pat made pancakes and eggs for breakfast. Jake was fine until it was time for him to get dressed and he got all teary-eyed and said he didn't want to go. I got around that by telling him that I'd wait in the car the whole time and not leave the school. He was fine after that. Of course, I had no intention of sitting there, but hey, you do what you have to do, right?

Once he was dressed, we realized we had almost an hour to wait. Pat likes to be prepared! We took pictures, too, and then finally went on over to the school. I was amazed at how he was doing, but once we went into the theater where the kids were lining up, he started to cry. All I could do was tell him not to cry, that he was going to have lots of fun, and I'd be right outside waiting for him. Once his teacher, Miss Tammy came over to try and calm him, he tried to reach for me and started crying even harder and calling, "Mom!" I turned then and left because I was going to cry and there was nothing I could do.

Pat and I did wait for a while just in case, but we went back home and jumped every time the phone rang. Everyone was calling to see how things went for him. It was so sweet!

We went back to get him at 10:30 and as I was walking to the door, he came running out saying what a good time he had and with a big smile on his face! I was so glad! His teacher, Miss Lisa (He has two.), waved me over and said he cried for about an hour, but then he was okay. What a relief! He even told me he wanted to go back. I really hope Monday will be much easier for both of us.

Anyway, here are the pictures:

Having Breakfast

All ready to go...How sweet is he??

First Day of School Count Down!

I cannot believe my baby boy starts school Thursday morning! I'm hoping after talking with Pat's neice, Kelly, who Jake adores, he feels a little better about it. She told him how she loved kindergarten and wishes she could go back. She talked it up and Pat said he did say to her that he wasn't scared to go. The truth though will come Thursday morning when I drop him off.

We got his tote bag (no backpacks they said) and I put some extra "school supplies" in there for him. I'm getting all the laundry done so we can pick out a back to school outfit. It's still so hot here that we can forget jeans for a while longer, but he did get new jeans and a shirt from Grammie.

I've been praying a lot about this, not just about him going to school, but about his fear of "losing me". Even in the house, if he doesn't know I'm in the laundry room and can't find me, he goes into a panic and starts to cry. One time, he didn't realize I'd gone outside for something and I heard him screaming "Mommie" because he couldn't find me. I've told him over and over that I would never leave him, but he still gets upset. Would you believe, that he gets upset if I need privacy in the bathroom and close/lock the door? He stands outside the door and cries for me. I don't know what on earth makes him do this. It's not as if I've ever lost track of him in a store or anything like that. He's never been "lost" from me. Anyway, I can see my 20-second goodbye that I'm supposed to stick to on Thursday (according to the teacher) turning into something really awful. I really hope not though!