Scarecrow Festival

We had a pretty low-key weekend. And it started early - Xander and I both took the day off on Friday so that he could see the doctor. (He has a sinus infection.). Since we were already out in town, which is an hour drive for us, we did the grocery shopping too. Gotta save that gas where we can!

The Scarecrow Fest in Stamford was supposed to be Saturday, but they worried about rain (it didn't) so they switched it to Sunday (it rained that day instead). Saturday we make a quick run to the library and the dollar store so Xander could pick out more Halloween decorations for our house. He had a great time decorating, and then needed to take half of them down at bedtime because they were too scary.

Sunday Xander and I hit the Scarecrow Fest. It's a pretty small deal, mostly craft vendors and a scarecrow judging contest. We rode the hay wagon, Xander painted a pumpkin and got a knight shield painted on his arm. I bought some books at the library sale. The only downer was that the Firehouse was selling chicken halves, and when we went to buy some to bring home they were already sold out. Boo hoo!

It was an especially nice day for Xander, though, because he got to see some of his old daycare buddies. And most especially his pal Brandon, who he has been missing like crazy. Plus I got to hang out with my boy for a couple of fun hours before the skies opened and everyone got drenched. :)

School Picture Day

Today is school picture day at Xander's school. He wasn't feeling well this morning, but I made him go anyway because I didn't want him to miss being in the class photo. (Such a mean mom!) Now I just have to worry about him making a goofy face, since we've already paid for a package without knowing what the heck we're going to get!

So this morning I had Xander practice some faces, trying to work out the goofiness ahead of time. I hope it worked!

Spontaneous Fun

As Xander and I were making our rounds in Oneonta for the weekly shopping, I happened to notice that there was something going on up at the mall (or as the college kids call it, the small). There were a bunch of bounce houses, a huge obstacle course, and a really tall inflatable slide set up in the parking lot. I paid $10 for a wrist band and then Xander was off and running - literally!

He went through the obstacle course countless times, with all the climbing and sliding and bouncing. Xander wasn't too interested in the bounce houses, though he tried out each one, but he loved the big slide. And at one point he climbed into the lap of an elderly man (on oxygen, no less!) who was using one of those scooters. The gentleman was nice enough to give Xander a quick buzz around the parking lot while I died of embarrassment!

I was really glad that Xander was able to have so much fun, so unexpectadly! Sometimes when it's just the two of us it's easier to take advantage of these moments. And I'm doubly glad that we hadn't used up all the pictures on his disposable camera before we got there!!

My Quest with Xander

Wednesday it was soooo warm in the afternoon! When I got home from work I dragged Xander outside to take a walk with me, because I also wanted to take some pictures. Of course, you can't just walk with Xander - he said we were on a quest. The Quest for the Waterfall.

It was also the quest to see how many flowers he could pick for me, which was very cute. Xander was bravely crossing ditches and climbing steep inclines to get me the best wildflowers he could grab. Then he totally swiped my camera and took some of his own adventuring pictures. And yes, we did finally find the waterfall (or green metal gate, whatever you want to call it!).

We were out walking for an hour, and finished up in our driveway tossing rocks in the stream. I'm hoping that we can do this more now - feeling kind of guilty that we don't have more outdoor time.

Like Mother, Like Son

This one's for my mom. Who does this remind you of?

Xander: "Is the TV having a break?"

Mommy: "Yes."

Xander: "Well, good. I don't want to watch TV."

For those of you who want in on the joke, my mother has always complained that it was pretty hard to discipline me when I was a kid. Here's a sample:

Mom: "Stop that or you're going to bed!"

Cassie: ::yawning:: "I'm pretty tired anyway."

So as you can see, it's all coming back to haunt me now! I hope you're happy, Mom! I know you put that curse on me!

Wedding Weekend

Saturday was Wedding Day for the Brunos. Joe's cousin Jason was getting married (all the way out in the willies, too!) and we were invited. We all got dressed up, and some of us got too dressed up - the weather was only supposed to be in the 50s and rainy, but it ended up being in the 80s and wicked muggy. Blech!

It was a very nice wedding, and I really liked the color of the bridesmaid dresses. Xander did very well - it was his fourth wedding, so he's an old pro! He sat quietly, ate some fruit snacks, and told me frequently that he was starving and when could we go to the reception. And actually, we made a pit stop at Stewart's on our way to the reception to get some snacks, because we were all hungry!

The reception was at an Elks Lodge, in an outdoor pavilion. It was really nice! The food was good, they had a DJ playing some good tunes, and Xander had a whole bunch of kids to run around with. My personal highlight was getting to hold Destiny's new baby, Little Spanny. Such a peanut!

We were invited back to Destiny's place after the reception, but we were too tired. It was a good day, though. And I know how much Joe likes reconnecting with that side of his family. Still two more cousins to get married!

In Remembrance - 9/11

September 11, 2001 started out like a normal day for me. Joe and I were living in Richmondville at the time and had no television. I had no idea anything was happening until the phone call came from Vikki - "We're at war!"

I went to the house and watched on TV as the second tower fell. It was unbelievable. The US had its share of tragedies - the Oklahoma City bombing, the Unibomber - but nothing like this. Terrorist acts were supposed to happen in Bahgdad and other places whose names I can neither spell nor say.

It was a scary time. I knew people who were frantically calling relatives that lived in the city, even if they were no where near the Twin Towers. I knew people who lost relatives. Everyone was freaking out - what was going to happen next? What if the terrorists hit the water supply? Did they have biological weapons?

Even though the Twin Towers were only four hours away, I still felt removed from the whole ugly incident. My life went on as usual, unchanged except for the knowledge that living on American soil was no longer a guarantee of safety from foreign aggressors. I haven't been back to NYC since 9/11, haven't seen Ground Zero or the changed skyline. Will the city feel the same for me, five years later? Have I even felt the same, five years later?

(This scrapbook layout was created in 2006. I still haven't been back to NYC. And now when low-flying planes go over my house, part of me worries that they might crash right on top of me.)

Darn Head Cold!

I have nothing fun to post about today, but I didn't want to leave you all hanging. I've been sick as a dog since Sunday with a nasty head cold. Spent all weekend, and all day yesterday, camped out on the couch. So I have no fun pictures or tales to share today, sorry!

Wish I had a clip I could post of what I sounded like the last two days. Just picture a frog with emphesyma and you'll be on the right track!

Hope everyone else is feeling better than me!!

Sleepy Xander Scrapbook Page

I just really want to show off this scrapbook page. I think it just came out so awesome, I love the colors! And this is how I scrapped that sleeping Xander picture I showed you a couple of posts ago. This is why I love scrapping!!

Xander's First Day of Kindergarten!!

Well, it happened. Xander had his first day of Kindergarten yesterday. Boy, was he excited!! He got himself dressed and ready right away, and we got to the top of the driveway with quite a bit of time to spare before the bus came. I took that opportunity to snap some pictures. They don't convey his total excitement, though, especially when he caught sight of the bus. It was all I could do to get a kiss goodbye before he hopped up the steps and was gone!
All morning I sat at work, anxious on Xander's behalf. Was everything going okay? Was he nervous? Did he make some friends? He'd been excited to buy breakfast at school, and we'd packed his Incredible Hulk lunchbox, but did he have any trouble? Well, I found out at 11am!

Joe called and said the school had notified him that Xander was complaining that it was hurting to pee. (If you know Xander, you know this is not an unusual circumstance.) So we went to pick him up and take him to the doctor to make sure he didn't have a UTI. When Xander found out he had to leave, oh, the wailing!! He was so upset, and kept telling me "I feel better now!" Poor guy!

Good news: no UTI. So we finished out the afternoon with lunch at McDonald's, and went home. After talking to Mom, Vikki and Jean, Xander played quietly and watched TV. After some questioning, I found out the following things about his first (half) day of school:

• He picked a seat on the bus in the middle, next to a girl with a green shirt and a pink backpack.


• Seats in the classroom were assigned by the teacher. Xander is sitting next to Mary and Emily.


• They had gym in the morning. "We played sports!"


• Xander had an english muffin with peanut butter for breakfast.


• Ava (his daycare chum) wouldn't play with him all morning. Of course, the last time he saw her at daycare he told her he wasn't going to be her friend anymore. Sigh.
  

Here's hoping that today is a better day! So far, so good...no calls from the school! When he gets home today, Joe will get him off the bus and then entertain him until I get home. Xander's ideas for ways to spend time with Daddy today included the following: puzzles, read book, color, play video games, play with the knights, and have snacks. Too funny!

Labor Day Fun

Labor Day weekend...how was yours? Mine had it's ups and downs. Major down was waiting for a couple of hours at Neahwa Park for the hot air balloons to set up and then having to leave before even one got inflated. That was pretty disappointing.

A major up was talking to my Scrap Pal Tracy on the phone for 2 hours - lurvs ya!!

We did the teeny little bit of school shopping that Xander needed. Just some clothes (thanks, Mom and Vikki!) really, and lunch stuff. So since I didn't have any school supplies to photograph, I took a picture of Xander in Walmart.

Yesterday, Krissy and the kids came over. Xander wanted to take his cousins to the playground at his school, so that's where we went. They had a pretty good time running around and making up games to play. Carlyn was a little bored - it's hard to be the oldest! - but she killed time by reading and working on weaving pot holders.

Stay tuned for tomorrow - Xander's first day of Kindergarten! If I can stop crying long enough to get to work, I'll post the pictures!