Hurricane Irene

Today is August 27. Today is also "Tomato Day". And we are here in Boston due to Hurricane Irene. What looks like will only be a Nor'easter or Tropical Storm (for our area) has shut down most of the highways in New York and New Jersey limiting our travel capabilities. According to the weather reports it seems that Boston will be safer in comparison to Manalapan.

We are prepared with bottled water, flashlights, batteries and non-perishable food. Now we just sit and wait---hoping that we stay safe and preferably don't lose power. As we sit, I will close my eyes and visualize the hustle and bustle of tomato day, all the yummy foods that are consumed, and the smell of the fresh sauce that permeates through the house. We miss you guys and are so disappointed that we couldn't be a part of our special family day.

Here are shots of Mikey on his first and second "Tomato Days":

Vacation Days 9 & 10: NYC

In addition to my gorgeous "initial necklace" (the letter "M" for BOTH of my Michaels) that husband and son gave me for my birthday, Michael also took me to New York City for the weekend! This was my first time away from Mikey overnight. After a thousand kisses later and a few tears wiped away in the car, we were off for our weekend of "Mike and Alli time".

Michael got us a room at the Intercontinental Hotel in Times Square. Staying in the city is such a novelty for me---we only lived an hour away so we would only visit the city for day trips. We were able to check in early so we dropped our bags off in the room and quickly hit the streets of New York.

At 2:00 we saw our first of two Broadway shows on the weekend agenda: Rock of Ages. Very funny. Very fun. I totally wanted to jump up out of my seat so I could dance and sing along at the top of my lungs. Mike and I have made a mental note that when this show comes to Boston we gathering up all of our friends and seeing it again.

To hold us over until our 10:45pm dinner reservation we grabbed drinks and appetizers at Charley O's (directly across the street from the Milford Plaza hotel----remember that jingle?!?) before heading back to the hotel to change for show #2: Jersey Boys.

Jersey Boys was excellent. The singing was phenomenal as well as the set. Highly recommended.

After the show we had dinner at Bar Americain---owned by famous chef, Bobby Flay. On this night I had one of the most memorable meals of my life. We didn't order anything exotic. It was just simple food made well. What did we order? I'm so glad you asked! We shared an appetizer of Corn Soup, Blue Crab and Barbeque Potato Chips---which was really like a Corn and Crab bisque in a HUGE bowl. Michael ordered steak and I had Grouper--Florida style, which was grouper with southwestern rub over pureed black beans and spinach topped with a mango and avacado salsa. We were so stuffed (and exhausted) that we couldn't bear to think about dessert.

Mikey spent the day with Grandma and Grandpa visiting Allaire State Park where they had a picnic under the gazebo and rode on a train! They came home and Mikey showed off his baseball skills as he played t-ball in the yard and did "run run". He wasn't able to stay awake for an ice cream outing to Jersey Freeze but he did do pee-pee in the potty for Grandma before his bath!

The next morning we were able to sleep in until 10:00!! We got dressed and walked around the city until we met up with my parents and Mikey for lunch before we headed back to Boston. We had lunch/dinner in Little Italy and grabbed some dessert from Ferrara's. The perfect ending to a perfect vacation.

Michael---you gave me everything I wanted for my birthday and more! I had such a wonderful time on our weekend away. Thank you for taking such good care of me always. I love you MUCHO! Muah! xoxo

Now were are back. Home sweet home.

Vacation Day 8: MMP

The high school gang reunited again on Friday for a day at the Metuchen Municipal Pool (MMP). Erin, Lauren, Erica, Alli and kids spent the day playing and soaking up the sun! The kids had a great time in the pool as well as playing in the nearby playhouses and shooting hoops.




We headed back to the Casey Casa for birthday cupcakes (decorated with sprinkles by Jimmy!) and pizza. Auntie and Uncle Scotty also came over.




It was like our days spent in Boston all over again. The boys played in the pool, ate dinner, took a bath together and read books. And shared lots of hugs and kisses.




At 8:30 we left to pick Daddy up at the train station. Mikey fell asleep in the car and transferred easily into the pack n' play when we got home. Another fun day in New Jersey!

Vacation Day 7: "Happy Mama"

Today is my 32nd birthday. Wow.

Mikey woke me up at 5:40 am. Apparently I am not the only one who likes to celebrate every minute of my birthday! I very politely gave Mikey a book and told him it was too early to party. Thankfully he fell back asleep (as did I) until 8:00. That was birthday gift #1!

Mom and Dad made me "Pina Colada Stuffed French Toast" for breakfast. Yum-o. Then I was off for a morning of "me" time. I got a pedicure and then hit the mall to use some of my birthday coupons. After a successful shopping excursion I headed home for lunch. Mikey had just gone down for his nap when I got home. Grandma and Mikey had gone to the party store and got me a birthday balloon as well as a "Bob the Builder" balloon for Mikey, which he insisted was Handy "Manny". When Mikey came down from his nap he told me "Happy Mama!" (which translates to "Happy Birthday, Mama!"). Love him.

We headed to dinner in Belmar at a place called Klein's where we had fried soft shell crabs...Yummmm. The weather was iffy (as was Mikey) but we decided we would try to head to the boardwalk for the rides and ice cream. Mikey loved the "rides" and requested he go on the "boats" first. He "rang da bell" on the boats and the fire trucks. He appeared very comfortable and SO happy!

















Mommy and Mikey got to ride the train together. The entire ride he kept making chugging sounds like "choo-choo-choo-choo". This kid loves his trains.




Then we headed for ice cream--Mommy and Mikey both got soft serve vanilla and chocolate swirl with rainbow sprinkles. Mikey ate his ice cream until he was distracted by another child on our bench with an Angry Birds stuffed animal that he had won from a nearby game. That is until the fireworks started.......

Mikey immediately freaked out, lunging for Mama and squeezing my body as tightly as he could. If he could have crawled into my skin he would have. He kept repeating "Car. Car now." When we started to walk away from the fireworks (as Mikey was on Grandpa Bob's shoulders) he turned, waved and said "Bye-bye fireworks". When we got to the car I asked Mikey what sound the fireworks make and he replied "BOOM. BOOM. BOOM." Then I asked him if he liked the fireworks. His response: "Yeah!".

I had a great birthday. I received so many phone calls, texts, facebook posts, and cards acknowledging my day. I feel so special and so loved. Thanks everyone!

Vacation Day 6: BEACH!

Finally the sun returned and we took full advantage of it! Grandma Anita, Auntie, Mommy and Mikey went to Avon-by-the-Sea for the day (11:00am-5:15 to be exact!).

We had another perfect 10 day in terms of weather. No clouds, just sun and a nice beach breeze. Mikey had a great time playing in the sand and in the water. He also enjoyed sending Auntie to the ocean to fill his bucket with water---in which he would just dump on the sand and then request "More wadder, Auntie". Over and over and over...........His other favorite game was finding and poking Auntie's belly button!

("A shell")

Mikey passed out on the drive home. While Grandma and Mommy put dinner together, Mikey and "Bob" went for a "bike ride" (which translates to Bob pushing Mikey on his bike). Mikey inhaled a HUGE dinner consisting of 2 hot dogs, veggies and an OJ pop.

That night Mommy and Mikey read books in his bed but when given a choice of where he wanted to sleep, Mikey chose the pack n' play. I told him he could sleep in the next morning. Mommy wouldn't mind. Really.

Vacation Day 5: Time for BED.

Mikey must have been very excited about his vacation in New Jersey because every morning he was up around 6am ready to begin another day. The only problem with this (in addition to me wanting another 3 hours of sleep) was that I would get him from the pack n' play and he would be yawning and still acting tired. I wondered if he was uncomfortable in the pack n' play and that was why he was still tired in the morning.

To resolve this issue (and prolong my sleep) I went to the store and got an Aerobed twin sized mattress. We had two empty beds in the house he could have slept in, however, since he is still used to sleeping in a crib at home, I wanted to make sure he was safe if he rolled off the bed. I also got him "Cars" sheets for the bed.

Finally it was bedtime. Mikey watched "Bob" as he set up the mattress and as we made the bed. We completed our normal bedtime routine and then read books in his new bed. I explained that Mikey was going to sleep in a big boy bed tonight and that he was to stay in bed ALL NIGHT LONG (I had brought a gate from home that I put in front of the door to make sure he stayed in his room). Mikey went to sleep without a peep.

He slept all night long and woke up in the morning......

at 6am.

Vacation Day 3 & 4: Rain.

Since the past two days were VERY busy, it was nice that it rained on Sunday so we could all just relax. Mike was planning on going to the Yankee game and then taking the train home from New York, but since it was rained out we were able to grab dinner with Mandy and Scott before taking Mike to the train station. Mike made it home safely and I got caught up on some work for New Dental Group that night. All in all, a VERY wet but relaxing day---we got 6" of rain!

On Monday my Aunt Linda came to visit Mikey. Mikey had so much fun playing with his new toy car that she got him. He was chatty and playful with her. They had a great time together! Thanks for making the LONG trip, Aunt Linda! We were so glad you could make it!

Vacation Day 2: Goin' Coastal

Michael and I are official country music fans thanks to Amanda and Scott Roth. For our birthday/Christmas presents we decided to purchase tickets for each other to attend the Goin' Coastal Tour at Giants Stadium featuring Uncle Kracker, Billy Currington, Zac Brown Band, and Kenny Chesney. We could not wait for this day to arrive and when it did I only have three words to describe it:

SO. MUCH. FUN.

We headed out bright and early to participate in the true tailgating experience. The parking lot opened at 10:30---concert started at 4:30! Mandy and Scott pulled together quite a successful tailgate. They remembered to bring EVERYTHING. We had music, great food, the perfect tent to give us some shade, and even games to occupy us as we waited for the concert to start.

We were one of the first cars to arrive. The hardest part was to pick our parking space because we could park ANYWHERE!

We had so much fun catching up together. I even got a chance to brush up on my beer pong skills. It's been WAY TOO LONG!







Other people got to squeeze a power nap in before heading to the show....




Other notes about the tailgating:

• Someone built and brought their own Tiki Bar to the tailgate--complete with sand!
• We noted a BIG man wearing overalls and boots---I don't think he he had anything else on!;
• Michael ROCKS at the beanbag toss game....who knew?!?!?
  

The concert was A-MAZING. We missed Uncle Kracker (but he came out later for a duet with Kenny), Billy Currington was great and Zac Brown could have played forever---I wouldn't have minded one bit. Kenny Chesney sang old songs and new, followed by duets with Zac Brown Band including "Knee Deep" and songs by other artists like "The Joker" by Steve Miller Band and "Runnin' Down a Dream" by Tom Petty.

Zac Brown

Kenny Chesney came in on a swing!

When we first got to our seats, we saw a girl walking up the steps to go to the bathroom---it turned out it was the wife of Mike's friend from Queensbury! Small world! We always try to meet up with them in NY and it never works out----seems we have more luck when it is unplanned!

While we were enjoying ourselves at the concert, Mikey spent the day with Grandma and "Bob". He helped Grandma water her flowers, he swam in the pool, played with the doggie next door, and then went to Jenkinson's Boardwalk in Point Pleasant for rides and ice cream.

I texted my Mom at one point and said we were having so much fun. Mom's response was "Not as much fun as we are!".

Everyone had a wonderful day!

Vacation Day 1: Sesame Place

August 12, 2011: Temperatures in the low 80s with no humidity and no clouds. A gorgeous day for sun, friends and ELMO!!

My high school "crew" went. All ten of us--5 adults and 5 kids. Mikey had come down with a cold and was up WAAAY past his bedtime the night before so we weren't sure how the day was going to roll. It went great!

We arrived at 10:00 when the park opened (only took 40 minutes from Manalapan) and stayed until 5:00pm (Erin made it with Jimmy until 7 and the Tolska family stayed until it closed at 8!).

Highlights of the day were the parade and "Elmo's World" show. I cannot imagine what was going through the kids' heads as they saw their favorite Sesame Street character inches away from them. It must be so confusing and exciting all at the same time! (I do know what was going through my head since right before the show started Mikey peed through his swim diaper and through my shorts and down my legs. Awesome ......)

Kaylie and Mady participating in the parade!

Mikey was mesmerized!

Mikey LOVED the train ride. He rode it 10 times in a row!

The water park area (which was a majority of the park) was a tad overwhelming for Mikey, as he insisted on being held by Mommy the whole time.

Notes for next year by Mommy & Daddy: Plan on going during the middle of the week to hopefully avoid the crazy crowds that we experienced on a Friday (definitely avoid a weekend trip!) OR try to visit in spring or fall.

Heading to New Jersey....

Boy do we have A LOT to do today (or should I say, I have a lot to do today) to get ready for our week long trip to New Jersey! We have so many fun things to look forward to over the new few week: Sesame Place, Zac Brown Band/Kenny Chesney concert at Giants Stadium, the beach, the rides, visiting with friends and family.....the list goes on and on!

Many exciting Kodak moments ahead! Hooray for summer!

Cars 2

Daddy has been working A LOT. We try to eat dinner together on a night when Daddy is home but this week Daddy has been very busy with interviews for the new company. Since Daddy worked all day on Saturday, we declared Sunday, August 7 as "Family Day".

It was a rainy, gloomy summer day so we decided it would be fun to take Mikey to his first movie in the theater. He LOVES his Cars DVD so we chose to see Cars 2. We picked the 10:55 show (the only showing of Cars 2 that day). Good thing we got there early because a lot of other people had the same idea---the movie was sold out! Because it was a morning showtime and that Mikey was under 3, he was FREE (they assumed that he would sit on our lap)!

We walked into the theater and chose our seats. Mikey insisted on having his own seat. The only difficult part was that Daddy had to hold Mikeys seat down with his legs since he was too light! We offered him the booster seat (which we thought would weight the seat down---but it was made of plastic) but he insisted on sitting by himself.








It felt like one of my first movie experiences with Michael---Mikey held my hand throughout the movie. (Have I mentioned how much I love this cuddly kid?!?!?)

Mikey sat for the WHOLE movie. He was in awe. There was a 5 minute cartoon sketch with the Toy Story characters (Mikey's other favorite Disney movie) and then the Cars movie began. He thought he was in heaven. He pointed out every "Car!", "Truck!", and "Roller!" that he saw on the screen. Mikey loved every minute.

And when the movie was over he kept saying "More Cars! More cars! More cars!"

He proved me wrong. I thought he was too young to go to the movies. That night we called both sets of grandparents and Mikey proudly told all of them "I saw the movie cars".

"Time to make the pizza"

Tonight was pizza night in the Scialabba house! The whole family participated in the pizza making process.

Anyone hungry?

(You can tell where Mikey concentrated the cheese. I snapped this shot before we evened it out!)

I can't wait to print these pictures out for our Italian grandparents! They are going to LOVE this post!

"Handy Mikey"

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