Welcome Baby Joseph!!

Congrats to our California friends Jerry and Jess on the birth of their new baby!!

Joseph Jon "bubba" was born on 5/28/09 2:38pm... 7 lbs 8 oz, 19 inches long. No pics yet, but I'm hoping for some soon!

Good Boy Bucks

We started a new behavior adjustment program at home that we call Good Boy Bucks. Basically, Xander gets one Good Boy Buck for each day of good behavior. He can then spend them on toys, playdates, or save them for his big-ticket birthday wish - a Nintendo DS.


It's been touch and go. For each not-good day, Xander has to hand back two GBB. But right now he's got like six or seven. So he's good! And honestly, I've about run out of ways to try and get him to not act up at school. Hopefully this will keep working. It's something tangible that Xander can see and touch, so maybe that's why it's working right now. Keep your fingers crossed!

Doin' the Hippy Hippy Shake!

My boy has some moves! At the birthday party he attended this weekend, there was a hula hoop contest. Xander vs. three girls. And my boy won! Yeah, baby! I didn't know he could hula hoop that well! Glad to know he's picking up useful skills in gym class, LOL! Check out these moves!

Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day, everyone! Hope you have nice weather!

I would also like to take this opportunity to show off the flowers my hubby sent me at work on Thursday - just because! What a sweetie!

Mr. Twitchy

So, I was coming back from getting Xander on the school bus (and yes, I had my trusty camera with me because I wanted to get some pictures of my neighbor's lilacs) and saw this little squirrel zipping around the yard. Two weeks ago I'd gotten a great chipmunk picture, and I hoped to now get a decent squirrel shot.

Ha! Mr. Twitchy didn't like sitting still too long for me. I'd get focused on him, then he'd zip off before I could snap his picture. These are the two best I was able to get of that little sucker.

Love Me Some BBQ!

Our cool temps and morning frost have morphed back into Summer temps again. Yesterday it was around 85 degrees, sunny and just gorgeous. So naturally it was the perfect day to BBQ.

Joe dragged out the trusty Weber Q and grilled up some burgers and dogs (Nathan's hotdogs only for this girl!). There's nothing like the smell of BBQ drifting on the wind! Hopefully this will be the year we finally put in the little BBQ patio next to our front steps, so the BBQ can stay out all summer. Right now we have to drag it out of the house and down the steps every time we want to grill.

Love me some BBQ, and that's no lie!

A Whirlwind Grandparent Visit

So, Maui and Pop (Grandma & Grandpa to the uninitiated) blew into town on Sunday as part of their whirlwind trip up the East Coast. They took the Brunos and Steigmeiers out to dinner at their favorite place - Mama Maria's. We ate a ton of food and the kids were actually pretty well behaved.

Afterwards, we met back up at Eli's place for a quick visit and some picture taking. I took yesterday off of work to go with Joe to a doctor appointment, and then to spend the rest of the day with my grandparents. But they decided to head out before I even got back. (Me - angry, disappointed.)

Still, at least we got to see them at all. Now they're in New Jersey, or perhaps have already moved on to Pennsylvania. From there, back home to Vegas. Xander was happy to see them, but I wish they'd stayed longer so we could have had a proper visit. Sigh.

Misty Morning Pics

It was a misty morning over at the Big Blue Barn today, which is always pretty and often heralds a great day once the fog burns off. (70+ degrees and blue skies, in case you're wondering!) I took the camera up the driveway again this morning and snapped a few shots while Xander and I waited for the bus.

Random Photo Post

I didn't have anything especially interesting to post today, so I thought I'd share a few pictures I recently took that I thought were cool and/or funny!

Xander redefines the phrase "Put on a happy face", LOL!

This little fat-cheeked guy was in my driveway. He let me get close enough to catch him with my zoom lens. Nice pose!

Just a cool picture of some storm clouds. The storm passed us by, but I loved the lighting on this!

Xander's First T-Ball Game

Saturday was Xander's first T-Ball game with the Catskill Mountain League. Quite a lot of kids turned out, including some friends of Xander's from daycare and school. (His best buddy Brandon never made it on the field, he was too scared.)

The kids broke up into groups, and ran some drills with the coaches. Batting, throwing, catching, and which direction to run the bases in.

Then it was time for a quick practice. Hilarious! They split the kids into two teams (Xander is on the red team, #13). All the kids on one team were in the field together, most of them clustered around the pitcher's mound. Whenever a ball was hit, there was a dog-pile on it! Unless, of course, the batter ran to retrieve the ball instead of running to first base.

Xander did pretty well. He's a good batter, but he got bored hanging around in the field. Next Saturday is another practice day, and then the "real" games start. This is going to be fun! (Special thanks to Uncle Mo and Aunt Jen for the awesome baseball mitt and bat, and to Tami for the baseball pants!)

Have A Funny Saturday!

Worried About Swine Flu?

Worm Watch 2009

If you've never paid a visit to me over at the Big Blue Barn, then you may not know that I have a very long dirt driveway. When it's rainy, we get lots of earthworms and slugs out on the driveway, and it's been rainy all this week.

Fact: Xander is afraid of earthworms.

So every day on our way up the driveway to wait for the school bus, Xander has a death grip on my hand and is literally tip-toeing. It's pretty funny! I have to point out all the slugs and earthworms so he doesn't step on them. (Or, presumably, so they don't get the drop on him.)

This morning we were also looking for worm trails. I myself don't mind the worms, so long as someone isn't waving them in my face. And Xander doesn't seem to care about the slugs, they don't freak him out the same way the earthworms do.

All I can say is, it's going to be a long rainy season at the Big Blue Barn!

Twilight - The Movie

I went to see Twilight when it came out in theaters last November. Krissy came with me because I'd gotten her sucked into the books. I never commented on the movie at the time, but I want to comment on it now because I rented it this week from Blockbuster and Joe sat down to watch it with me last night.



Let me first say that I love, love, love the four book Twilight series (written by Stephanie Meyer, just in case you want to check them out for yourself). Great characters, great stories. Krissy agrees. And I figured that the movie would be just as good. Wrong, wrong, wrong.


What really confuses me is that the filmakers knew they had an instant hit on their hands. The Twilight series has a ridiculously huge fan base. The fourth book is STILL #1 on the bestseller list and it came out about a year ago. So why they movie studio that put out the movie only gave them like a $10 budget is beyond me.


The special effects are mostly ridiculous. The cinematography is really annoying (stop with the twirling camera, please!). I just expected more. My wish for the next movie, New Moon, is that the Harry Potter people take it over. Make it shiny, spend the dough on effects because it DOES matter. With all the new and complex effects that will be popping up in New Moon, I shudder to think what they'll look like on $10.


Okay, I feel better now! And if you haven't read Twilight, get thee to a library and check it out! You won't be disappointed!

Xander's Big (Play)Date!

Well, Saturday was Xander's first playdate with someone from school. Drea and her mom picked him up at 1pm at the school, and brought him back after 5pm. From all accounts, Xander had a great time, he was well-behaved, and no-one was pummeled! Yay!

Xander and Drea played all day, with and without the older brother and two dogs. They climbed trees, played monsters, and went to the school playground. Xander and I made brownies earlier that morning, which he brought along for a snack to share. He'd also drawn Drea a picture. (Let's hear it - awwww!)

Best part: Drea's mom is also a photo person, and had a picture all ready for me when I picked up Xander. Worst part: While I was talking to Drea's mom at the end of the day, Xander closed Drea's hand up in the car window. Sheesh!

Now we have to find a weekend to have Drea over to play. Xander's still pushing for a sleepover, but I'm hoping to avoid that for at least a little while!

Yes, It's Me!

So, I don't show up very often in my own blog. Usually because I'm not doing anything particularly noteworthy. Definitely because most pictures I take of myself look horrible. Double chin, fat face, you know the drill! But...

I took these pics recently and I don't think I look half bad in them. I guess it's all about angles and position, LOL! (Xander took the picture below. Mommy's little photographer!) Thought it might be nice to be in my own blog for a change. Back to regularly scheduled Xander posting next week!

PSA - T-Ball

For those of you keeping score at home, Xander's first day of T-ball got switched from today to May 9th. So if you're here looking for cute baseball pics, sorry to disappoint! You still have a week to wait!

Joe Sews!

Okay, so not quite yet. But he's learning! Look at that studious expression!



Joe bought this sewing machine from a co-worker, for a good deal. He's been wanting to learn how to sew, mainly so he can make some manly looking scrubs. He read the manual for the sewing machine cover to cover, and bought himself a Sewing For Dummies book. For his birthday I got him some sewing accessories and a case to keep them all in. Yesterday was the first time that he actually sat down in front of the machine and took it for a test spin.


There are still some bugs to work out, and he'll probably have to consult with my sewing brother, since I have zero skills in that area. Is Joe a Renaissance man or what?