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.

Get On Da Bus!

Monday was Alexander's day of many "firsts". It was the preschool's annual apple orchard field trip. He was so excited!

* His First School Bus Ride

* His First Field Trip

For two weeks before the big day, he talked about how he was going to ride the bus. Bus, bus, bus, bus, bus. After watching school buses travel around town, watching his cousins get on the bus, and countless kid books about school bus rides -- he thought that this was his pathway to paradise!

Lucky me, I got to chaperon. So I got to sit with him on the ride to and from the orchard. He was mostly mesmerized. We were the "cool kids" riding in the last few rows of the bus. I tried to explain to these 4 year olds that when they were older this seat location was a symbol of their "coolness" and the top of the class system of bus riders. Perhaps a bit to early to introduce the concept; just a nugget to file away for later. ;-)

Along the way, I turned to Alexander and asked: "Do you like your first bus ride?"

A: "Yes, but why are the grown ups sitting?"

Me: " What do you mean? We all have to sit on the bus."

A: "But in all the books, the grown ups are standing and holding on to loop things."

Ahhh... I see a public transport day in my near future.

Ripley runs

Ever since I took Ripley biking with me, I swear she has been bugging me to go back out. Every time I put on sneakers or otherwise dress in anything other than business attire, she jumps up and down and chases me around like she's going into the forest. On Sunday, I tried to take a quick nap to recover from the late Saturday game, and as I am laying in bed, Ripley sits down on the floor next to me and proceeds to whine. Eventually, I got up and took her for a short run, which ended up being a run in the pouring rain. Nothing like it!

So yesterday, I took the day off to hang with CJ and relax a little. Went for another mountain bike ride in the afternoon near Bear Meadows. A little shorter this time, but I felt a whole lot better climbing that mountain than I did last time. Does that mean my legs are getting into shape?

The weather was great, and the view was beautiful. The leaves in Central PA are starting to change!

And this time, I remembered to take a picture of Ripley.

WE ARE...

Saturday night, the Nittany Lions of Penn State hosted the Fighting Illini of Illinois at Beaver Stadium in University Park, PA. That's the official word. The unofficial word is that 109,000 fans all wore the same color, drank all day, and then screamed their heads off for 4 hours in support of a bunch of 18-22 year olds. It was freaking awesome!

This was our first real test of the season, and Penn State passed with flying colors. Following a back and forth first quarter, Penn State took control and won by 14 points, vaulting us to #6 in the nation.

But the real story of this game was the atmosphere. There really isn't a better scene in college football...and there may not be a better scene in all of sports than a White Out, primetime, nationally-televised game in Happy Valley. And for me, it was so super cool that I was able to get onto the field during the pre-game warmups. Check out my cell phone pics!






And here is a better shot of the entire stadium, not taken by me...



Pretty cool, huh?

Duck or Tiger

Zack and I predict that when the kids grow up, that Alexander will be a lawyer and CJ will be a lobbyist. The basis for this is that Alexander will negotiate tirelessly until he gets what he wants and CJ simply does not take "NO" for an answer. Really. Never.


Case in point:
CJ approached me and informed me that she was going to draw a picture for me and then for daddy. Then she looked up at me with those little doe, brown eyes and said, "Mommy, you want a duck or a tiger?"

Me: "Duck, please"

CJ: "Ummm. Duck or tiger?

Me: "Duck, sweetie"

CJ: "Duck or TIGER?"

Me: "Tiger?"

CJ: "Okay, Mommy. Good idea."


See? Not only did she get her way, but she made me think it was my idea. She truly is brilliant!

It's Good to Be a Kid

My effort to find mommy-n-son activites during CJ's nap time seems to revolve around some sort of cooking/baking. Today the item on the menu was brownies! Trying to be educational with the activites, I picked this because at school he is learning the letter "B". He was, of course, TOTALLY into this ... as you can see in the following photos.




He had it in his hair and down on his shirt -- and loving it! Don't think that I didn't consider jumping head first into the bowl too. It looked like alot of fun!

Monday Night Football: All in Jest

Again, the American Football fans are showing how truly inept they can be. If you liked last week's post about the two guys missing the high-five, then you should appreciate this one too.

While Zack and I were watching the game, this crowd shot appeared on screen:

Not sure what is funnier...

1) New Yorkers that can't spell their team name, or

2) That I didn't initially get it. I turned to Zack and said, "Is that some code for something?"

Buzz! BuZZZZZ!

With the growing season winding down, we did some lawn/garden maintenance this past weekend. Well, as Zack was cleaning up the "surprise" pumpkin patch in the compost bin, he was stung twice by some really angry yellow jackets. The stings were quite gross -- puffed up immediately and stayed puffy for days.

So with Alexander none too happy with this next in the backyard (he was keeping everyone at a 20 yard perimeter), what were we going to do?

Well, when you live in Happy Valley, you call Benny the Bee Man. Seriously. He runs a weekly ad in the CDT (the local paper for those outside Centre County).


He arrived today and ran a hose into the compost bin hole (the bee nest's foyer, if you will) that was duct taped (another amazing use for that product) to a plastic juice/drink bottle that had a tube running to a dust buster. Totally hi-tech. The result was what he called a "decent" amount of yellow jackets.


The group he works with collects the bees and turns the venom into medicine for those who are allergic to the stings. Pretty cool, huh?

Just another run-of-the-mill day in the country.