Just another average Sunday afternoon

What a great day we had today! We went to see the women's basketball game thanks to our neighbors unused tickets. Much to our surprise, we were in the front row!! I, who is absolutely bored with all basketball games, had so much fun. It is not too hard to 'get in the game' when you are practically sitting on the bench with the players.

So, besides the miracle of the kids actually lasting the whole-entire game, we had frequent visitors to our seats. The Nittany Lion was walking by and high fiving Alexander and CJ all the time, at half time Mrs. Claus and Santa dropped off some candy canes and the cheerleading squad made her a honorary cheerleader for the day.

This is a milestone. CJ has always adored giving hugs to the Lion, while Alexander always hid behind one of us. Today, was the first time he has ever touched, fist-bumped, and sat with the Lion. Oh, how our alumni hearts are warmed.


The kids waited for 15 minutes for the Clauses to make their way to our seats. The woman behind us was so excited for the kids -- she even gave them their candy canes. Great... more sugar!

Parenting Advice from the Diva

Last night after dinner, CJ was running around crazy. Meanwhile, Alexander was dilly dallying over his dinner plate. Zack and I were still sitting at the table trying to "encourage" the boy to eat something. This is when CJ made a grand pronouncement.

CJ: Mommy, when you get frustrated with Alexander... THEN you need to spank him.

(Editor's note, this is a common yet hollow threat in our house)

Me: Okay, hmmm. Well, CJ, when we get frustrated with you, should we spank you?

CJ: LONG PAUSE. Umm, no.

Zack and I just cracked up. She IS the Diva.

Ham

After one postponement due to bad weather, this week Alexander finally got to perform in his pre-school's Christmas Program. It's a pretty neat little thing, where every pre-school class files into the church sanctuary and stands on risers and sings together. It's a whole big production for less than an hour of "entertainment," but all the parents and lots of grandparents show up, and they serve cookies afterwards, so I wasn't complaining.

Last year, Alexander basically just stood up there and didn't move -- no singing, no clapping, no swaying -- just stood there like a statue. This year was a different story. He was looking forward to this thing for weeks, and the weather postponement had him a bit antsy to surprise us with his songs.

Of course, we didn't know where in the room Alexander would be, and we chose a seat near the front on the complete opposite side of the church! So, as usual, our video looks like a low quality Zapruder film. But, I edited it down to about a minute so as not to bore everyone with the nose-picking and butt-scratching parts.

Notice in the video that Alexander was geared up to sing Oh I Just Can't Wait to See the King. So much so that he poked himself in the eye (anyone see a pattern developing?) doing the hand motions. But the boy toughed it out and finished strong!

Enjoy!

Senior Surfing

I guess retirement really does suit my parents. After years following the pro-surfing circuit, they decided to throw caution to the wind and head to Hawaii to hang 10. Don't they look awesome?

Way to go Mom and Dad!

Classic Alexander Comment

Went to the Penn State basketball game tonight. The kids were geared up to go out "in the dark" and cheer on PSU!

Now, normally we get to a sporting event and the kids are ready to go in 5 minutes. But tonight they displayed incredible stamina. Maybe it was the constant flow of popcorn, water, and ice cream, mixed with a sprint to catch up with the Nittany Lion so CJ could give him a hug and rub his ears.

Anyway, we actually made it through halftime before the first comment:

Alex: Daddy, I'm ready to go home.
Zack: In a couple of minutes, buddy.

Three minutes pass.

Alex: Daddy, I'm done.
Zack: Just a few more minutes.

Two minutes pass.

Alex, exasperated: Daddy, when are we going to leave?
Zack: At the next time out buddy, promise.

Two minutes later, we are out the door, run through the freezing rain to the car, and drive out of the parking lot.

Alex: I wish we could have stayed for the whole game.
Zack, now the one who is exasperated: But you were the one who wanted to leave!
Alex: Oh yeah...

Good times!

Gotcha!

Is there anything better than the "surprise" face of kids being discovered in a game of hide-n-seek?
Love this!!

Crazy Christmas Gifts

Every year, without fail, the Brookstone catalog arrives for Christmas shopping. I can honestly say that I (nor Zack) have ever purchased anything from them, but alas, the catalog comes.

As I diligently browse through the pages and marvel at this massage chair with "light cocoon" and that golf swing simulator, my mind repeats "who buys this stuff?" More over, who USES this crap?

Until now.

As you have learned from previous posts, I am taking horseback riding lessons. This weekly session gives me great joy/freedom and usually some very sore muscles. How is one to 'train' for this type of exercise? Brookstone has the answer... uGallop.



That's right: "Ride Your Way Into Full Body Fitness." Just a suggestion if you get me for Secret Santa.

Lyrics that make you Laugh

Alexander: Mommy, what is that song again about decking halls?

Me:
Deck the halls with boughs of holly, Fa-la-la-la-laaa La-la-la-la.
Tis the Season to be jolly, Fa-la-la-la-laaa La-la-la-la....

Alexander: Thanks. (He runs back to the puzzle he is working on and breaks out into song)
DECK THE HALLS with melancholy, Fa-la-la-la-laaa La-la-la-la.

Me: (HA HA HA HA)Honey, it's: "with boughs of holly"

Alexander: Okay. DECK the halls with bells of holly, Fa-la-la-la-laaa La-la-la-la.

Me: HA ha ha ha. Great job, buddy.

Explaining too much

Okay, so I didn't learn from all the wonderful tips/tricks in the comments of the last post. Here's my latest conversation from Wise Ole' Xander.

We were driving home around dinner and I decided to kill some time and drive into a few neighborhoods to check out the Christmas light displays. As the kids were ooohhhing and aaahhhing in the back seat, they started to play the game "who has more lights out their side of the car". As Alexander began to lose this competition, he asked me: "Mom, why don't some people have lights up?"

ME: They just haven't gotten to it yet.
Alex: Why not?
ME: Perhaps they were busy.
Alex: Don't they like Christmas?
ME: Of course, some people do.
Alex: Why only some people?

This is were I admit I was not thinking. I was driving around a neighborhood that I was not completely familiar and was trying to make sure we didn't get lost. So, in this multi-tasking moment, I regretfully did not think before I spoke.

ME: Well, some people don't believe in Jesus.
Alex: WHAT? Who doesn't believe in God?

Oh, brother. I really messed up now. I don't even remember how I got out of that one, but once I did I figured that would be the last of it. Why did I think that? Of course I was wrong. So for the last day, Alexander has listed everyone he knows and has asked if they believe in God. It's as if he's making a list, checking it twice...

Already?

I'm sure we will get around to a Thanksgiving recap post soon, but for now, a quick story.

Last night sitting at dinner, out of absolutely nowhere:

Alexander: Mommy, I am still trying to figure out how babies come out.

Me: {choke on my steak}

Jean, not missing a beat: Well, mommies go to the hospital, where doctors use special tools.

Alexander: I know that, but how do they come out?

Me, glance at Jean and then jump in with: Doctors use special tools, like Mommy said.

Alexander gives a quizzical look.

Me, changing the subject: Is tonight a dessert night?

Whew, crisis averted. But seriously. He's 4 and a half. Should he be wondering about these things already? Because if he is, I better get myself prepared for more questions to follow sooner than I expected.

And, how great is Jean? She comes up with this stuff on the fly people!

Faces

CJ is truly Jean's daughter. Not that I had to tell you that.

Like Jean, CJ doesn't take crap from anybody, including her parents, but especially from her brother. Recently, we've caught her retaliating when Alexander takes something from her or bosses her around too much -- and we're talking serious retaliation here -- biting, punching and kicking. If it wasn't behavior that we're supposed to discourage, it would be funny, because she really lets him have it.

Well, we've noticed recently that she also makes a great "mean face" while she's beating on him or talking back to us. Again, we almost always have to stifle a laugh while we're sending her to the corner. It's a great mean face.

Yesterday during lunch, CJ made a classic mean face because she was told to eat her apple before she was allowed to have any more chips (great parenting!) so I ran and grabbed the camera, and we proceeded to take turns making mean faces. CJ's best effort is not caught on film, but you get the idea.

Whose face is the meanest?

Easy Conflict Resolution

I spoke with a woman this past weekend who was telling me her challenges of raising her 14 and 16 year old girls. She was dealing with sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll. Oh sorry, that phrase just rolls of the tongue. It was sex, drugs, bullying and raging hormones. Everyday she said she felt battle wounded with her girls. Then she delighted in my innocent, and in comparison... easy, challenges with a 2 and 4 year old. Her remark echos in my head, "Enjoy this stage. It is wonderful."

Today, Alexander came up to me (like countless times before) and tells me,"Mommy, CJ pushed me." (Insert any verb: hitting/shoving/tackling/etc.)
My standard reply , "What were you doing right before she pushed you?"
Alexander: "I was trying to eat her arm."
Me: "Okay, then. You stop eating her, she will stop pushing you."

It's great that he hasn't figured out how to lie to me about this YET, nor has he opted for the "Nothing" response. Life is good and I am truly enjoying this stage. :-)

Blogging about blogging

A couple of random thoughts about our blog:

1. I love it. I had to pull Jean kicking and screaming to create this thing, and now she is nearly the sole contributor. Many reasons for that, including:

--Jean is a great writer

--It seems that our readers are more interested reading about Jean and the kids than they are about me -- some of my former co-workers and friends told me that they skip right over my posts to get to Jeans' -- I don't know if they just busting my chops or not, but it hurt ;~)

--I sit in front of a computer all day, and don't feel particularly inspired to blog about the ridiculous things I do in my job. And no one wants to hear about it.

--Jean spends more time with the kids and therefore has more funny stories than I do. Not that I don't have funny things happen, but she just seems to be able to capture them better than I can. Many times, Alexander will say or do something ridiculous, and I'll look at Jean and say, "Blog about that!" It's like Jean is the Secretary of Blogging in the Nittany Valley Administration.

2. I don't feel the need to tell people what we've been doing lately. I'll be talking to my sister on the phone, she'll ask me what's new, and I'll say something like, "We went bowling, took a hike, went to the football game, check the blog, it's all on there." Jean does the same thing.

3. Comments. When we started this thing, a friend told me about comments. He said that we should comment on other people's blogs because that would encourage them to comment on our blog, which would, in turn, be encouragement for us to blog more often. We followed his advice, and he was right. Funny thing is, that may have been the only time he's ever commented. Shame on you Kris. You too Steph.

We do love comments, and I've learned to comment frequently on others' blogs. One of my favorite things to do is to just let someone know that I read their post and enjoyed it -- two words, "Great Post." I always hope that it makes them feel good about their writing skills, and that they will continue to blog about random occurrences.

4. It's weird, but not all of our friends know about the blog. There are guys who I talk to frequently who have no idea that we have this thing. I actually have to verbally tell them all the things we're doing. Maybe I should just give them the URL...

5. Pictures. We've found ourselves taking more pictures more frequently, just because of the blog. Which is great, except I'm soon going to have to buy a terrabyte external hard drive because Jean refuses to delete a single picture, even the terrible ones I take. Big argument in our house.

That's all for now.

Cheese

This just happened as I am making dinner. CJ is flipping through books in the other room, managing her 100'F temperature and finds a book she got from her baptism titled, "The Story of Jesus". She runs to me and says:

CJ: Mommy, a book about God.

Me: Yes, CJ. That book is the story of Jesus.

CJ: Oh, Cheese-Its. I LOVE Cheese-Its.

HA! Back to cooking...

Eye Emergency

The delay in posts is due to our recent family trauma. On Saturday afternoon, Alexander stabbed Zack in the right eye with his sharp fingernail while settling a dispute about toy ownership with his sister. This was a horrible scene. Zack flinging Alexander off his lap to cover his eye while dropping the f-bomb, Alexander proceeding to hysterically cry, and CJ wide-eyed and confused. I swooped into full-mommy action... checking to make sure that Zack was stable (albeit in throbbing pain -- no blood, though), calmed Alexander and then quickly put CJ to nap.

After assessing the situation and then seeing the doctor later that afternoon, we learned that Zack's cornea was scratched. I mean slashed --the scratch was wide and long. Totally gross. It was cool to see through the microscope at the doctor's office (much to Zack's chagrin, but I dig that kind of stuff).

Needless to say, he has been out of commission. His pain is slowly decreasing by the day and this was the first day since Saturday that it hasn't been freakishly dilated. He went to work today, but still can't drive. Good times here in our casa. Stay tuned for more... they say it will take at least 10 to 14 days to recover.

An Improptu Visit to Grandma and Pop Pop's

So this is how we roll. On Thursday, we decided that it was time for a visit to Grandma and Pop Pop's, and the Aunt who shall not be named on the internet. Since said Aunt doesn't read the blog, I should post her name, pictures of her and her kids, and architectural drawings of her house. But I'm a good sister, so I will respect her privacy. But I digress.

The plan was to trick or treat on Friday, eat some candy, and then make the three hour drive. Great idea, huh? What are we, still in our 20's?

The drive actually went fine, and the visit was terrific. It was great to see my parents, and even better for the kids to see their grandparents, aunt, uncles and cousins. On Saturday, we went for a nice hike at a nearby park then spent some quality time at Grandma and Pop Pop's.

As you can see from the pictures, we skipped rocks in the lake, walked in the woods, and hammered in nails in Pop Pop's workshop (possibly the highlight of the trip for Alexander). And we ended the day with lots of ourdoor play, a campfire, and a great dinner.

Horse Update

After missing last week's lesson (due to SNOW!), I was very happy to get back up in the saddle this week. This is more than just a random activity for me. It is a time for some exercise (think non-stop squats and lunges), some fresh air (outside of the stable, that is), and some plain old, fun "me time". I just love the hour a week I get to "play" with a horse.

This week was a new level for me as a rider. For those not versed, you have different paces for riding: walk, trot, cantor, gallop. For the last two months I have perfected the walk and worked very hard to get in rhythm with the trot. But this week, I GOT TO CANTOR. Whoa, Nelly... that is a whole lot of fun. The only way I can describe it is as if you were going from a flat road bicycle ride to all of a sudden flying down hill and having a ton of fun doing it. It was great. Until the trainer started to ask the horse to do some more, the horse was not happy about it and then he went from a cantor straight into a bucking motion. WHOA, NELLY. Good news is that I held on. Not sure if I am more impressed that I cantored or that I didn't just roll off the horse. I'll let the "comments" decide!

Halloween 2008

What a great year for Halloween. So far, ages 4 and 2 are super cool. Both Alexander and CJ were completely caught up in the fantasy world that is Halloween and the joys of candy procurement that comes along with it.

For the last 2 months, Alexander has been steadfast in his desire to be a ghost. He perfected his spooky ghost sounds, "OOOooooOOOOOoooOOOO" and "BOO!" While CJ has changed her mind every time the wind changed its course. For the same two months, both Alexander and I have pushed the idea of being a witch. We bought a witch costume and the prerequisite broom, taught her how to say "I'm going to get you my pretty" in an eerie voice, and really played up the whole idea. Two days before the big trick-or-treat day, CJ locked onto her costume. Yes, she loved being a purple butterfly... much to my and Alexander's dismay.

The sun set, costumes donned and make-up applied --we were off to trick-or-treat. Both kids did great running up to the doors with their neighborhood friends, ringing the bells, mumbling "trick-or-treat" and then grabbing the loot. After about 5 houses, CJ was done. Pushing her on, it only took 6 more houses for Alexander to state, "Mommy, I'm done. Can we go home and eat it now?" My reply? "Yes! Awesome, we're done."

Random Thoughts... FBI and Something Special

Some of the readers of this blog may be unaware of my lifelong dream to be an FBI agent. When I was 16 and family friend (and retired Agent) "snuck"out an official FBI hat for me -- way before it was cool and the DC cart-vendors started selling them for $15. I wore that hat everywhere and loved the attention I got for it. But then life happened and while the dream never faded, just became unrealistic.

Why the walk down memory lane? Well, a former coworker of Zack's just started training at Quantico a few weeks ago. I am completely thrilled for her and, well... just alot, envious and jealous.

Today, I sent her a care-package of homemade muffins, cookies, cheesy tabloid mags, and two pictures. These pictures hopefully will give her a grin as they did for me.

"Something Special"

Recently, my dear son, Alexander, has whined and fussed about "doing something special" every flipping day. It is really wearing on me and driving me nuts. When I pick him up from school, he walks out to the hallway and starts to immediately fuss/whine if I don't have something special planned for lunch. When he goes to bed at night, he always asks me after the goodnight kiss -- "Mom, what's something special we can do tomorrow?" ENOUGH ALREADY!!!

Today after going to the "boring" YMCA and the post office (to mail the above mentioned care package), we drove by the stables where I take lessons. Being the super cool mom that I am, I decide to spontaneously stop by and see if the kids could pet a horse. Not only did I get the woman working there to rope a horse and bring her into the stable, but THEN I let the kids pet, brush, and give treats to the sweet old mare. Really, how cool is that for a 2 and 4 year old? So, cool.

As we went to hop in the car to leave, I asked Alexander: "So, was that the something special for the day?" He turned, looked up at me with his one eye squinting, smirked and said, " Yeszzz, Mommmmm."

Father and Son

Okay, so I was looking over the bowling pictures again and found this funny. Everyone tells me how Alexander is such a little, mini-Zack. I could never really see it, but as Alexander gets older his facial expressions are shockingly exact to Zack's. I will be talking to him and he will respond with a look, glare, or smirk that takes my breath away... My Little Z.

Back to the bowling pictures. On the "launch" photo, Alexander's tongue is sticking straight out. If you have ever seen Zack play any sport/game/puzzle, this is something he does too. Let's go to the photo proof.

Funny, huh?

Rainy Day Bowling

On Saturday, the family went to bowl. Yes, we are so cool. The kids have been bugging to go since Aunt Ann was here last Spring. The two of them have been bugging and nagging every time we would drive past the alley in the last 5 months (which is quite often since it is on the road to just about everything). All we would hear was,

"Can we go bowling someday?" "Can we go bowling someday?" "Can we go bowling someday?""Can we go bowling someday?"

After finally relenting, the two were popping with excitement. CJ tried several techniques for pushing the ball, including (but not limited to) 1. the one finger push, 2. the forearm nudge, 3. the cheek brush, 4. the forehead bump. All of them slightly less effective than the other, but entertaining none the less! Alexander, on the other hand, gave it his all -- each and every powerful push. See examples below.

The one finger push.

The forearm nudge.

The forehead bump.

The LAUNCH!

After about the 6th frame, I was kicking every one's ass and the kids were more excited about the apple juice and Fritos on the table. So, with a good hour wasted, we packed up to leave. Then they saw the arcade with a nascar driving game. Guess what we have being hearing since?

"Can we go drive that game at the bowling place someday?" "Can we go drive that game at the bowling place someday?" "Can we go drive that game at the bowling place someday?" "Can we go drive that game at the bowling place someday?" "Can we go drive that game at the bowling place someday?"

Yeah, here we go again.

Just "F" it

Today was Alexander's parent/teacher conference. As suspected, we found out from his wonderful teacher that Alexander is exceptionally brilliant. Okay, maybe she didn't use those exact words, but it is was the essence of the conversation. (Everyone gets the sarcasm here, right?)

As an example of how engaged he is in learning new things at school, she told us how he came to school this past Monday ready to learn the letter "F". He was so disappointed to find out that this was a review week and that the letter "F" wouldn't be until the following week. Still pleading his case, Alexander looked at her and firmly said, "But I have a great F-word!"

Thankfully, it was just FALL.

Pumpkin Patch

It wouldn't be Fall without one photo opt at Harner's Farm pumpkin patch. Here are three quick shots. Enjoy!

Grasping for Gold

This past weekend was the Homecoming Parade. An annual event in Happy Valley marked by the hubbub of drunk sorority and fraternity members parading on floats with seemingly no-similar theme mixed in with the standard firetruck, local politicos and diary princesses. What really makes this a true family affair is the throwing of candy to the many children lining the parade route.

Of course, we were there for this truly wholesome fun. The kids were geared up all afternoon and excitement had reached its peak by the start of the parade at 6:15pm. As the first trucks passed by and the first tootsie rolls were hurled at the crowd, the innocence of the parade turned to all-out warfare for candy. Every kid from CJ, at 2 1/2 years of age, up to the college kids sitting to our right, sought to be the first to grab whatever was tossed out. Tootsie rolls seemed to turn from a chewy snack to gold coins. It was crazy. In fact, after an 8 year old stole a piece right out of CJ's hand, Zack quickly calm me down by reminding me that:

1. we already had a bag full of candy that will never get eaten
2. another float will be coming by shortly
3. and attacking an 8 year old might not be a good idea

But other than that, we had a great time. Here are some pictures.

Alexander had a great night. Out late AND candy -- a dream come true!

This is right after someone grabbed her candy.

You Betcha!

GO LIONS!! It was another exciting Saturday in Happy Valley. While Zack was working hard at the football game hosting this legislator and that drunk Hill staffer, I was having a great time enjoying the crisp, sunny fall day tailgating with good friends. In fact, I was feeling like a real "townie" for the first time --- especially after walking from one tailgate to another and literally running over my church's pastor on the street. With my beer in my hand, we greeted and chatted. He is a great guy, but being my pastor, I had to ponder, "what is he thinking about me trolling around with a beer in my hand?" Then I thought, "Shoot -- he gives me wine at 9 am on a Sunday morning. He is totally down with this!" :-)

While watching the game (again, Zack still working and me enjoying myself {I LOVE HIS JOB}), Mr. Sarah Palin.... oh, I mean, Todd, walked in. If you know me, then you will realize there were two things I instantly became obsessed about:

1. Watching the Secret Service and seeing if they are watching me

2. Getting a picture with the newly famous

So, since I was on the phone at the time of his arrival in the hall with my brother and sister-in-law, I announced to them on the phone that Todd Palin just arrived. INSTANTLY the secret service agent snapped his head around to check me out. Satisfied that I was not calling in an airstrike from outside, he moved on. But later in the suite, I swear they had an extra look on me during their crowd scans.

Then, I convinced Zack's coworker to go up and get a picture with Todd. We walked up, introduced ourselves, and chatted about football. Then she asked if we could take a picture with him. His response? "You bet" OH MY GOD, if only he had said "you betcha!" I would have died laughing.

Here's the fuzzy blackberry camera picture -- the guy who took it must have been very nervous. Enjoy!

Leaf Jumping

For a long time, I've wanted to figure out how to take the miles of video footage we've accumulated and turn it into watchable short videos. Well, I made a major breaktrough recently, and the result is below. Let us know what you think in the comments! (Make sure your volume is up!!)

Fall into Autumn

Saturday was a be-aut-iful day in Central PA. The whole family went out into the woods to soak up the colors of the season. We spent the day taking in the vistas at Penns View and hiking along a trout stream engulfed in peak fall foliage.

The kids did great hiking, eating on another 'lunch rock' and Alexander caught numerous, "not-biting" insects/bugs along the way.

Here are more pictures than needed, but I know that Aunt Ann and Grandma really love them.

The Sassy Diva. Oh yeah, even in the woods she can dish it out.

Self portrait. We really tried to get Ripley to smile at the camera, but there were too many squirrel, chipmunk, etc. distractions.

The awesome view down the valley. We then went down to that river to hike.

CJ, ever the slow poke, catching up to us.

Lunch Rock, part II. Shortly after this, the little diva announced, "I gotta go poo!" What do you do? I found a lovely, downward slope and a rock to hold onto and the little diva took her first "moment" in the woods. HA!

Fun time playing on the rocks.

The walk back to the car. It was a great day!

Politics

Okay, I know most of you think that Zack is the politico in the family, but something has been happening with me this season that I never could have predicted.

I know some of you remember my 2 year stint as President of the Ravenwood Park community association in Falls Church, VA, but this latest development has been a bit more surprising. The local Channel 3 news team ran a story tonight.

Check it out....
http://www.tsgnet.com/pres.php?id=46832&altf=Kfbo&altl=Nppsf

He is Such a Big Boy

In the past few days, Alexander has really wanted to be my go-to helper around the house. Here is a recent (hopefully humorous) conversation that will explain what I mean:

1. Scene: Alexander is playing a computer game, CJ is napping and I went down to the shed to check to see if the mower had gas. I walk back into the house and Alexander says to me...
A. "Mom, does it have any gas?"
Me: "Nope, we'll have to get some."
A: "Now?"
Me: "No, sweetie. We can't; CJ is napping."
A: "That's okay, I can stay with her."

****dramatic pause, while I actually think through running one block to get the gas -- that would only take, at most, 3 minutes -- CJ would definitely still be asleep -- Alexander will be focused on his computer --- there's nothing on in the kitchen -- oh, but he may try to microwave something (for the first time ever) --- oh, he would start some sort of massive grease or electrical fire -- I would be at the gas station when the fire trucks and social services arrived --- okay, it's decided. That is not a good idea. ******

Me: "Thanks buddy, but I need to stay home with both of you."

"SUNNY" Day

The family went on a road trip to this weekend to DC. The kids really wanted to see their Aunt Ann, Zack and I wanted a good dinner and night out, and a friend was having a birthday party in Georgetown. It was a perfect weekend to getaway!

On the way there, driving down Route 15 (just north of Gettysburg), there were fields of sunflowers as far as you could see on both sides of the highway. It was simply an amazing site. So, Zack screeched on the brakes, pulled to the shoulder, and out we ran into the fields of joy.

Here are some pictures from the spontaneous adventure. Zack and I thought the whole thing was magical (as did the 10 other cars stopped along the fields snapping photos), the kids were just happy to get out of their car seats and could have cared less about the flowers (especially when CJ found out she couldn't pick any), and I am sure that my sister Mary is going to freak out that we stopped on the highway ... and got out. Luckily, she doesn't read the blog. :-)

Songs

Since the beginning of preschool, new songs are a constant around the house. CJ's pretty good at remembering the words, but if she doesn't -- she just makes them up. This is very cute.


Then there is Alexander. He learns it at school, remembers about 4 words and the asks me to sing the "rest with him". I have NO CLUE what the song is about or the tune it follows. So usually, I end up searching the internet for lyrics or getting the lyrics from the teacher.


Lately, we have been an endless loop of the Acorn Song. I finally figured out all the lyrics when his teacher sang the song on the bus on Monday. AH HA! I've got it. From then on, Alexander, CJ and I have broken out in full chorus to this song.


This all explains, why I broke out the video to capture this little moment. Exactly what I expected to happen... did. Alexander got camera shy and CJ would only preform solo arias. She is such a diva.


The Acorn Song.
Enjoy!

I'm a little acorn, small and round.
Lying on the cold, cold ground.
Everybody steps on me, that is why I'm cracked you see.

I'm a Nut, I'm a Nut, I'm a Nut.

Called myself on the telephone,
Just to see if I was home.
Asked me out... for a date,
Picked me up at half past eight.

I'm a Nut, I'm a Nut, I'm a Nut.

Drove myself to the movie show,
Sat right down in the very first row.
Watched a movie called Star Wars,
watched another one called Cars.

I'm a Nut, I'm a Nut, I'm a Nut.

CJ's LEAF SONG
Lyrics are made-up, uh... I mean inspired by her surroundings.