Great Pictures for the Rehearsal Dinner

You know when something happens and you say to yourself, "this is a keeper"?

Well, CJ and Alexander were playing so lovely together the other day. He was actually letting her pick what they do and play. That is when that special moment occurred.

These pictures will haunt him for the rest of his life, but I think they are wonderful. I especially like that he was insistent on wearing the earrings AND heels. Don't you love a boy who is confident in his boy-hood that he can wear a Cinderella gown over his Lightning McQueen race car pajamas??

Won't we all get a great kick out of these at his wedding rehearsal dinner in about 20 years?

It's all Bling and Pink for the birthday

CJ turned 3. Wow. After the colic as an infant, fussiness of babyhood, and diva attitude for year number 2, we were all pleasantly surprised that she made it! This sweet little girl had the best birthday so far. Even as low key as it was (just us four for dinner and cake), she was in pure bliss.

Here she is decked out with the Crown Jewels. Her "best buddy in the whole world" (Clair) gave this to her. I know that I poo-poo the pink obsession, but I will gladly have her devoted to sparkly gems!

The princess on a 'walk about'.


CJ and her "best buddy"


This homemade poodle skirt was a big hit from our friend Steph. And this is only One of TWO fluffy tu-tus. She was overwhelmed with excitement.

This "gown" (as she calls it) was a gift from Grandma. She wanted to wear it to school to paint and show her friends.

Trains and Cake

This past weekend was a bit of a turn-and-burn for Zack and I. We left on Saturday morning to go to Aunt Ann's house in VA, then drive down to Quantico (see last post) for the tour, drive back to Ann's then load the kids and head back home.

Knowing this, we knew that we had to do something fun for the kids on Saturday afternoon. Since it was Ann and CJ's shared birthday this month, we decided to hop on the Metro and go have some afternoon cake. Where else should you go for this? Cheesecake Factory is the only correct answer.

The kids loved the Metro. Alexander was having a blast, CJ hated the tunnels. As soon as we went underground she was freaking out. Luckily, Aunt Ann made her calm down by showing her that in the tunnel, you can see your reflection in the window. The little Diva was instantly calmed. She loves to look at herself in the mirror.

CJ and Aunt Ann right before going underground.



Alexander amazed how we could pass cars on the highway in the Metro.

We walked around Claredon for a bit and then headed to the Cheesecake Factory. This place is no doubt the reason Americans are obese. The menu is ridiculously long, the portions are enormous, and the selection of baked goods is astounding.

With exhausted children, we ordered an afternoon snack of ice cream with whipped cream, chocolate layered fudge cake with whipped cream, and Kahlua chocolate mousse cheesecake with whipped cream. Whipped cream is a big thing at this place. They don't just put it on the cake, they also give a "side" tower of it on each plate. Crazy... but yummy.

Here are some fun pictures of the tired children pushing through exhaustion to consume as much sugary goodies as they could before falling face first in their plates of whipped cream.


This is just a bad shot. The kids were having a ball eating dessert in the afternoon, but I just seem to catch them at a odd moment.


One final picture of the walk to the park-n-ride lot....

Wardrobe Malfunction. ;-)

My Kids Crack Me Up!

I was just sitting on the sofa with the kids watching a Food TV show. They were playing around/on/in front of me. Lately, Alexander has been very interested in the cooking shows, which I just think is cute.

This little tidbit happened during the commercial break. I was playing dollies with CJ and Alexander watched the Jenny Craig Weight Loss commercial. It ends by saying, "Get started now, call jenny today!"

Alexander: Who's Jenny?
Me: HA! HA! HA! HA!

Alexander: Why do we have to call her?
Me: HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!

Alexander: Why should we call her today?
Me: HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!

Alexander: What's so funny?

Oh, we have snow.

It wasn't too long ago when we were in DC and snow was a big ordeal. People would "prepare" for an inch of snow forecasted for Friday, by immediately stocking up on toilet paper and bread on Monday. Never really cared for all that hoopla. Plus, more often than not, it would never snow -- just some rain with ice.

With that said, I will openly admit that I like the winters in Central PA. We get snow. Everyday. Sometimes, we don't even know when or how much. Often we wake up, see it snowing and look at each other quizzically and say, "was it suppose to snow today?" I love it. It is FAR more fun to play in snow than rain and ice.

Sunday we got snow, again. While I enjoy a fast run on the sledding hill, the kids (as you can see) prefer to make snow angels and eat snow. Lots of eating of snow. I figure it must be good to hydrate after sweating under the copious layers of clothing!


Playing some chase in the snow.

Preparing for tandem-sledding. Ripley at the ready to chase them down the hill.


Alexander lending a hand with some shoveling. Isn't he such a great helper?


CJ attempting to catch snowflakes on her tongue.


Angel Alexander.

I'm an FBI AGENT, Dude.

Zack and I love this famous quote from Keanu Reeves in the classic movie, Point Break. Now Courtney will be able to say it for real. I certainly hope that she will use the last word too -- it makes such a statement!

As all of you know, I am extremely jealous of Courtney in her career path. I love my kids and doing my staying-home-mom-thing, but I think it would be TOTALLY cool to run around chasing bad guys with a gun and a badge. Knowing this information, Courtney was so thoughtful to send the family a great gift this past Christmas. Here is a photo we took as an ODE TO COURTNEY.

Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers as she finishes her training in Quantico and moves onto fight bad guys in March.

Thank you so much, Courtney. Can't wait to come down and visit you in February!!!!

Back to School

It's been 5,267 days (14 years and 5 months) since I've sat in a classroom for an actual academic for-credit class. But after much thought, and a little delay, I finally decided to enroll in a graduate level class this semester. My thinking is that I'll take a class at a time and at some point over the next year or so, decide if I want to actually enter a degree program and go for my Master's. So this semester, I am taking COMM 513, Constitutional Problems and the Media. Should be interesting -- at least I hope it will be. Wish me luck!

The Annual PA Farm Show

It only took two years in Pennsylvania for our family to make it to the much touted Farm Show. Held in Harrisburg, a mere 90 minutes away, Zack took the day off work to relive his childhood memories.

For those unfamiliar with the event, it is a huge complex of arenas filled with cattle, diary cows, pigs, sheep, goats, chickens, alpacas, ducks, rabbits, a lone deer and (believe it not) a big ole bison. I am SURE that you can already smell the sweet scents that almost knocked us over upon entering.

The kids had fun running through the aisles of animals petting animals and mimicking their sounds as if to communicate with them. That was all fun and games until we got to the pigs. Trying to snort back at one particularly temperamental swine gave me a big breath of pig shit and almost made me toss the delicious pulled pork sandwich we just finished eating. (Wrong isn't it?)

This is CJ's new pose. Fits her personality of late very well. Miss Diva. Alexander may have a career in 4H in his very near future.


Crazy Rabbit. (Thanks Elmer Fudd!)


There were also countless farm tractors/equipment for the kids to play... er, I mean test drive. Here are some of their favorites.



After an exciting day of taking a shuttle bus (CJ's first ride in a yellow school bus), seeing animals, playing on large farm equipment, experiencing the largest butter sculpture in the whole world (because who else would think to do such a thing), riding the merry-go-round, eating chicken nuggets, french fries and a milkshake, we asked the kids what was the favorite part of the whole day.

Unanimously and quickly they responded:
"COTTON CANDY!!"



Well, but of course.

Just the Girls

On the heels of the last post, CJ has decided to give up on me. I just don't play dollies like she wants me to. She has figured out the alternative...



Poor Ripley. Doesn't her face just look like it is saying "help me!"?

Who is this Girl?

Most of you know that I am not a girly-girl. I hate pink. I don't even think I own a skirt. In fact, Zack was worried that I would wear a wedding pant-suit instead of a wedding dress.

When CJ popped into this world, it took a full day to "sink in" that I had a girl. A girl. A GIRL. That is what I would just keep saying. For the first two years of her life, I encouraged play with everything leftover from Alexander. She happily "rummed" trucks, played with Batman and kicked balls.

Then came Christmas 2008. You have seen the pictures of the princess gowns. She wore one every waking moment since opening it on Christmas morning. Two days ago, CJ was playing hide-n-seek in her closet. At this time she discovered her Easter dress from last year. Guess what? She hasn't taken that one off since that game. She calls it her "gown" and thankfully has allowed me to put some clothes on underneath.

WHO IS THIS GIRL? She can't possibly be a little Jean. She LOVES pink. She plays with Dollies. She WANTS to wear dresses and "tap" shoes. Although, she is adorable. Perhaps that is what she gets from me! ;-)

Aspirational Photography

Sitting at my desk today eating lunch, I surf the internet as usual, and it's amazing the things I stumble upon. While looking at an adventure blog, I clicked on to a link to some guy in Colorado who is a hiker and photographer. I probably spent 20 minutes clicking through his photos. Wow! To be able to make a living doing what he does makes me jealous.

Check it out for yourself: http://www.widerange.org/index.php

My Apologies

To all of the Penn State Football fans around the globe, I apologize. The Rose Bowl was an embarrassment. Was USC just a better team? Was the PSU coaching out-matched? Did the players have too much sun and fun before the game? What went wrong? I have the answer.

The loss was the sole fault of my brother. Yes, my brother.

For whatever cosmic reason, he changes things when he decides to root for them. For example, in the early 90s he suggested we buy some AOL stock. The technology stock was soaring -- it could do no wrong. It was at a "low" of $90 and headed up. Broke and trusting, Zack and I bought it on his advice. Several years later we took the tax break on the loss. This is pretty typical. In fact, I'm not sure, but if he bought a bunch of stock right before the recent stock market plunge, this recession could be his fault too. But I digress...

On New Year's Day, I got an email from my big bro. He had just painted his football statue to PSU colors in honor of the big game. This was the third painting of the season. He started the football season in Michigan colors (I know, I know) and then they started losing. He then moved on to the at-the-time-winning Redskins. Promptly after that conversion, the Skins started to suck big time. So what does he do? Yes, that's right... he goes for the Blue and White. ACK! On the day of the big game. What was he thinking?????

Again, my apologies fans.

Happy New Year!

Why is it that the Christmas season passes by faster and faster each year? What would be so wrong about it lingering for a few more days? Would everyone's merriment start to become grating? Would we get tired of hearing others wish us a "Merry Christmas"? Would the kids eventually give up on being "nice" and opt for just being "naughty"?

I just love watching the kids during Christmas. Everything is looked upon with such awe and anticipation, it's simply magical. Some of our highlights:

* Alexander at Christmas Eve service singing at top volume "Go Tell It on the Mountain". It gave Ann and I tears of joy.

* CJ on Christmas morning doing an adorable and giddy happy dance at the sight of presents from Santa.

* Alexander's amazement that Santa not only brought the one present he asked for, but also the present he was going to ask for next year. (The kid's got long term goals!)

* CJ's transformation into our Little Princess. Having avoided all the girlie-stuff for this long, the "aunts" took it upon themselves to give CJ tiaras, tutus, purses, and gowns. She hasn't taken them off since 12/25/2008 at 7:35am.

* Alexander's excitement to "give" gifts for the first time. Before going to visit the extended family, he was anxious to present his special gifts to his grandparents. For my woodworking father he gave a keychain with a level on it. For Zack's dad, he gave him a camoflauge beer cozy. Not sure what he is trying to say with that -- but it made us laugh.

Of course, here are some pictures...


The kids hand-picked every cookie for Santa and every carrot for the reindeer.


Christmas Morning. CJ in PJs, tiara, tutu, and "tap" shoes (because that is what Princesses wear, of course). Alexander holding up his most-wished-for game.



CJ and her cousin Sarah. They played dress-up the entire day. Can you see that CJ is holding her purse/clutch? Hilarious!!

A Cute Story

Every day, Jean and I have interactions with the kids that are "blog-worthy" but the problem is that we can't remember the exact interaction well enough to type it out. But tonight, while Alexander was putting on his pj's, we had the following conversation, which I just knew at the time was a keeper, so I specifically tried to remember it well enough to re-tell.

Alexander was telling me a detailed story from months ago...
Zack: You have a very good memory.
Alex: That's cause I'm a grown-up.
Z: Really, you're a grownup?
A: Yeah, I'm 4 and a half years old.
Z: And that makes you a grownup?
A: Yep.
Z: I think you're a great 4 and a half year old.
A: Yeah.
Z: You're living a good life, aren't you buddy?
A: Yep.

After a short pause.

A: But I'm not ready to go to God yet.
Z: Me neither.
A: Daddy, how do you know when it's time to go to God?
Z: Nobody knows buddy, God will let us know.
A: And you know daddy, a light will shine on you when it's time.
Z: Really?
A: Yeah, it comes out of the sky and shines on you.
Z: Cool. Where did you learn that?
A: I saw it in a book.

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!