Xander's First Break-Up

So, there's this girl at daycare named Meggie. She's a year older than Xander, and they've always been pretty good friends. This year their friendship escalated - Xander told me many times that he was in love with her, and then they were going to get married. They even decided that they were going to have two children, named Michael and Billy. Ah, young love!

Just yesterday, when I picked Xander up from daycare, Meggie said "Goodbye honey!" and gave him a kiss.

This morning, it all changed. (Fickle women!) Brandon, Xander's best bud, is back from a two week vacation. And Meggie informed Xander that she's broken up with him and now she's going to be Brandon's wife. Xander was clearly upset by this news, but then decided he was more excited that Brandon is back. Maybe now he'll give Ava a chance...she's had her eye on him!

Sigh. These are the days of our lives!

7 Years and Still Going Strong!

It's my wedding anniversary today...seven years married to that big bear of a husband of mine. Life with Joe may not always be easy, but it sure stays interesting! Thanks for marrying me, sweetie, instead of insisting on bungee jumping!

Husband Points

I promised Joe I'd give him some husband points on the blog today. Why is he earning husband points? Because he drove all the way to Oneonta yesterday (an hour drive) just to buy me the second and third book in Stephanie Meyer's Twilight Saga. And he didn't complain that I spent his night off from work with my nose buried in book 2. And yes, I stayed up until after midnight to finish it.

Dishes? Unwashed.
Husband? Unloved.
CSI? Unwatched.

So thank you, hubby, for your sacrifice and for feeding my current vampire obsession! You're the best!!

A New Baby!

Big congrats to my old high school chum Tony and his wife Kate on the birth of their son, Anthony William! He was born July 20, weighing in at 8lbs and 7oz.

And if you wouldn't mind, please send all your good thoughts and prayers their way, as Tony is right at this minute on the front lines in Iraq, serving his country. Stay safe, T-Bone!

Twilight Saga - Awesome!!

Has anyone read the Twilight Saga, by Stephanie Meyer? It's hella-good! I read the first book on Sunday (parts of it several times, I say with embarrassment).

I had known the series existed, but never gave it much thought. But in a recent issue of Entertainment Weekly (to which I am a subscriber) they featured articles on both the upcoming film and the author of the novels. It peaked my interest. So when I saw the first book at Walmart, I picked it up just to try it out.

If you don't know, this is the story of Edward the vampire and Bella the human, and their very difficult love story. I'm a sucker for that kind of thing anyway, so I was hooked pretty much from the start. The writing itself may not be overly polished, but the story is great! I'm now chomping at the bit to get the next two books in the series - the fourth and final will be out next month in hardcover.

The characters in this series have seriously caught my attention. I'd recommend this series in a heart beat, even if vampires aren't usually your thing. Get it! Read it! Love it! I do!

Happy 60th Anniversary!!

These are my grandparents, Rose and Jerry (better known to some of us as Maui & Pop). They are celebrating their 60th Anniversary today!! They recently took an anniversary trip to Hawaii, courtesy of my mom and my uncle. 60 years...wow!! Congrats you guys! See you soon!

And yes, I forgot to mail the card...I'll call later, don't worry!

Another Year, Another Party

Well, another birthday party is in the bag. And I'm exhausted!

We had good weather - hot but breezy in the morning, and the storms didn't start until after everyone had gone home. The slip-n-slide was a huge success! I now have a bog where that was set up, but the kids had a blast.

Xander got lots of great gifts (I think we now own every superhero toy in the world, and all of them seem to have firing projectiles on them) and he got himself a really nice sunburn too!

Special thanks to Amanda, who fit us in for haircuts the night before the party, and Donna, who helped set up before the party started. Extra special thanks to Mom and Vikki, who helped offset the cost of the tent. Everyone who came, and everyone who remembered Xander with a gift or a card - you helped make his 5th birthday extra special, so big thanks to you too!

Sakes Alive! Look Who's Five!

Five? Has it really been five years? When did we go from this:

To this??

I guess I have to face the cold hard fact that my little boy is growing up. Happy Birthday, Xander Boo! I love you!!

Cassie v. Carl

The next sound you'll probably hear is my head exploding. I have not been driving my car since Monday, due to the fact that my wheel bearing is bad and making very unpleasant noises. I've been lucky to get rides coming and going, and Joe took two days off of work so that no-one would have to endanger their lives by driving.

The car is right now at the shop, where we had an appointment today to fix the wheel bearing and the front brakes (why does everything go bad at once?). When I dropped the car off there yesterday evening, Carl wasn't sure if he could fit it in today. Um...what?? I've explained about this being our only car, husband works nights, blah blah blah. then he thought he might could get to it today after all.

It's now half past 2pm and I still haven't heard from Carl. I just left him a message, letting him know that I need to plan how I'm getting home tonight. I hope he calls me back...soon! I hate cars, they cost so much to get fixed. And while Carl's prices are reasonable, I wish he was better at getting back to me about things.

So hopefully I'll have my car back tonight. If not, Joe's head will be exploding much longer and much louder than mine!

Walmart v. Star Wars

Have you seen these Galactic Heroes Star Wars figures? They're totally adorable and Xander has a pile of them. When we went to Walmart on Saturday, Xander and I were both excited to see a whole new series of these toys on display. After careful consideration, Xander decided on the set he wanted. He was very excited!

When it was time to check out, the Star Wars figures wouldn't scan. Some female Nazi of a store manager materialized on the scene, snatched up the toys, and vanished. Turns out the new series isn't supposed to be available for sale until the 26th. Ha. Tell that to my now inconsolably crying son.

If Joe had been with us I'm sure there would've been a big, loud scene. Alas, it was just plain old non-confrontational me. When Xander was done crying he was pretty mad, lamenting the fact that Daddy hadn't been there to yell at the mean Walmart lady. I can only hope that someone in the toy department got his/her butt reamed for putting those toys out too soon.

Man, I wish we had someplace else besides Walmart to shop at!

Ben & Jerry's S'mores Ice Cream

I haven't been a really big fan of Ben & Jerry's ice cream for a while now, but when I stopped at the grocery store last night they were on sale so I thought, what the heck? I tried the S'mores flavor - it has graham crackers, gooey marshmallow, fudge bits, and chocolate ice cream. My report?

YUMMERS!!

It was seriously hard for me not to eat the whole pint in one sitting. Pretty sure it'll get polished off today, especially if Xander decides he still likes it.

Haagen Daaz Chocolate is still my all-time fave ice cream, but I'm glad I gave B&J another try!

First Loose Tooth!

Well, it's official! Xander has his first loose tooth! We're not sure if it was already starting to loosen on its own, or whether it's loose because he and another boy at daycare butted heads. In any case, that top front tooth will eventually be on its way out. And I think I'm going to miss it! I like all those little baby teeth! Next will be big old adult teeth, then body hair...it's all downhill from here!

On the plus side Xander says he can't wait for the Tooth Fairy to leave him a coin. I might just get off cheap on this deal!

4th of July Weekend

I'm happy to report that we had an awesome July 4 weekend! It started on Friday, when Joe and I took Xander to the movies to see Kung Fu Panda. He'd been dying to see it, but I'd been reluctant to take him because in the past he hadn't been able to sit still longer than five minutes out at the theater. But he must be the right age finally, because he watched the whole movie with a minimum of questions, and only needed one bathroom break. Oh, and the movie was really, really funny!


Then it was off to Cobleskill to see the fireworks at the fair grounds. Joe has worked every July 4th for the last four or five years, so it's been a while since we saw fireworks (with the exception of the awesome display my uncle and cousins put on at the family reunion last year). I got some great pictures and Xander got to stay up extra late. I think he liked the show, but the really loud boomers he wasn't too fond of.




Xander spent the remainder of the weekend with Joe's folks, going to the park and the pool, and helping his grandpa make jelly. Meanwhile, I hung out with one of my girlfriends, then watched movies with Joe and scrapbooked. The best part was getting to sleep in late! Woo!


I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend!! I'd love to hear about the fun stuff you did!

Happy July 4th!

I hope everyone has a great holiday!!

The Trials and Tribulations of Stuart

This is Stuart Little, the kitten (yes, he's only six months old) that we let Xander pick out at Christmas. He was such a sweet little guy back then, but I tell you, I've never had more trouble with any other cat in my life!

To start with, he was way too young when we got him and I didn't think he'd ever get the hang of using the litter box. It was touch and go there for a while. Now he's very much litter trained, but he's gotten quite aggressive. Just last week, he mangled my hand for no apparent reason. It looks like I stuck it in a cheese grater. Again, I had to ponder whether or not we could keep this cat.

As always, guilt has won out. Xander doesn't want to get rid of him, and I'm willing to give him some time to show me he can be a good cat. He's getting fixed and declawed at the end of the month, and hopefully that will help convince him to change his ways. We'll just have to wait and see, I guess. For now, I keep my eye on him and make sure Xander and I keep our distance. Hopefully in a month's time or so, I can report what a wonderful and friendly cat our little Stuart has become. Stay tuned!