Crop Hangover

Man, I have the worst crop hangover! I spent this weekend at my friend Cathy's house, borrowing her Wi-Fi for the Summer ACOT Crop. It was fun, especially since it was the first crop I wasn't hostesssing, so I just got to play and hang out. The hangover part comes in as a direct result of two late-night chats with my posse. We signed off at 1:30am on Friday, and 2:30 on Saturday. Yawn!



Here I am sitting on Cathy's floor, scrapping and watching lots of TV. And in case you're interested, here are some stats from the crop:

• Challenges Completed: 7 (that's scrapbook pages)
  
• Fast Scraps Completed: 1


• Bingo Games Played: 2 (lost both)


• Posts Made: 129


• Points Won: 175
  

I also hosted Caturday. Fun times! I want to give a shout-out to my Posse for two awesome (and educational, LOL!) chats: Angie, Jeanne Marie, Jess & Ondrea. And extra special thanks to Cathy for letting me hang around her house and eat her food! Now if I could just sleep for two extra days...

Xander's First Visit to the Dentist!

Xander had his first ever dentist visit today, and boy was he nervous. This morning he was concerned that the dentist would want to pull out his loose tooth. I had to reassure him several times that the only thing happening today would be a cleaning.

Of course, everything went just fine! Xander went to Dr. Aives, who is new to the area, and he was very nice. He cleaned Xander's teeth and put on some fluoride. Then he had some x-rays taken just to have a baseline. Xander did everything they asked him to without a single problem. Most importantly, the dentist let me take some pictures after he was all done!

Xander was very proud of himself for being brave. Dr. Aives said he had perfect teeth, no cavities. He's right on track with tooth growth and all that. Yay! And Xander got a SpongeBob toothbrush and toothpaste to take home with him. I'm so glad that Xander had such a positive first experience! Hopefully that will make all his future visits go nice and smooth.

The Darkside Beckons You!

The scrapping darkside, that is! That's how paper scrappers refer to us digi types. And I'm in the process of recruiting. Check out my sister-in-law!

Krissy just got a laptop, and has jumped into the world of digi scrapping with both feet. I think she may possibly have every digital freebie on the web now living on her EHD! And the best part is that she's actually using her supplies! Check out one of her very first layouts (using one of my humble templates):

Not bad, right? Last night I was scrapping with my friend Amy, who still paper scraps. I got into a conversation with her and her sister about digi scrapping and now Amy is seriously considering making the switch once she upgrades from a desktop to a laptop. Bwa ha ha, another feels the pull of the darkside!

Remember, it's not all bad on the darkside. We have cookies!

My Norwegian Sister

My good buddy Chris is in from Norway now on her vacation. I took the day off work yesterday to spend with her, because tomorrow she's off on a cross-country trip, then a visit to North Carolina and Hawaii. Wow! So we only had the one day to hang out.



We didn't do much. Just a trip to Oneonta to check out the mall, Walmart, and have breakfast for lunch at Denny's. Still, it sure was nice to have a girl's day out and get all caught up with each other. And I'm ashamed to say that while I did in fact bring my camera, this is the only picture I took. Chris has some good ones on her camera, which she'll hopefully send to me at some point.

Joe manned the BBQ for our dinner (nothing like some American burgers and hot dogs, LOL!) and Chris got to have a nice long chat with Mom on the phone. It was a great visit, but much too short. Before she left, Chris asked if she could call me her American sister. Aww! Of course I said yes! My family...so international! Have a great vacation, Chris!!

It's A DS World!

We had Andy, Angie & Josh over for dinner and visiting this week. When they heard that Xander and Joe had each gotten a DS, they all brought theirs over (plus an extra for me to use!). They gave Xander a couple of games for a belated birthday present, and Angie let me try out her Price is Right game on her lime green DS. (It was fun!) And then Andy, Angie and Joe linked up to play eachother in Call of Duty 4.


Too funny! Xander and Josh were also playing games together, or Josh would show Xander how to play one of his new games. In between gaming, they played with toys and played outside.

Before they left for the evening, all six of us linked up to play Mario Kart. Xander and I always came in last, and I had to call it quits after awhile (I'm embarrassed to say that I got motion sick playing that game!). What did we ever do for fun before the DS?? (That's a rhetorical question, Mom!)

Summer Swim

I'll go ahead and say it. I haven't been swimming all summer. But who can blame me? We had so many cool and wet days, there was no way I was going in the pool. Now that it's been in the upper 80s, though, I've changed my tune. So when I went to pick up Xander from his overnight at Grandma's on Sunday I joined him at the Richmondville pool.

It was cold at first (see my chilled expression?) but I finally just dunked under and then it was fine.

Xander loved having me in the pool with him. He rode on my back, and we had races from one side to the other.

Might have to break down this year and get over to Minekill for a swim, especially if these scorching temps continue!

Hunter Mountain Celtic Fest

Joe and I went to the Hunter Mountain Celtic Festival this weekend, our first time back in about 4 or 5 years. This used to be marked in permanent ink on my calendar - I was going every year even before I met Joe. But the festival has gotten fairly lame in recent years, which is why we stopped going to it. However, by a quirk of fate I happened to just check their website and discovered that Seven Nations (my favorite Scottish band!) was playing. So of course we had to go.

Much to our dismay, the festival hasn't gotten any bigger. It was mostly vendors and food stands. Should've been called the International Food Festival, because you could get bratwurst, crepes, Jamaican food, mexican food...actually, the only celtic food you could get was bangers (sausage) and someone had crock pots set up so people could try haggis. Joe opted for some Texas BBQ.

Gone is the caber tossing and sheep dog demonstrations. We were either watching dancers or listening to bands. We staked out some seats in the main tent and spent several hours there waiting for Seven Nations to come on. Joe and I discovered that we really liked the Young Dubliners, but weren't overly enthusiastic about Black 47. Seven Nations was awesome, but they don't have their totally rockin' bagpiper anymore - he's been replaced with a young kid. Ah, well, I still loved them!

So it wasn't a total bust. But I think we may have to look elsewhere to get our Celtic fix in. There's always the Irish Fest in Durham!

My Little Reader

Now, I know that Xander can read a little. He learned a whole lot of that in Kindergarten. But getting him to read even one word at home has always been a struggle. So imagine my surprise when, two nights in a row, he's read me a book!



I picked him up this Level 1 SpongeBob book last weekend. Some of the words have little pictures with them - like everytime it says SpongeBob in the book, there's a little picture of the yellow sponge. And while I've had to help Xander out with some words (know, asked), most he's either just known or been able to sound out.


It's been so much fun to have him reading! And voluntarily! I'm going to have to get more of those books. Thanks, SpongeBob!

A Sad Farewell...To Underwear

Yes, this is about underwear. Xander has been needing some new undies - his size 8s fit okay, but the 6s are way too tight. When I went to Walmart yesterday I looked to see what cool new pictures undies they had. Ooh, Marvel Superheroes! I knew Xander would like those. But wait! What's this? The cute picture undies only go to size 8?? Noooooo!!!

It's the dawn of a new underwear era in the Bruno household. Once the size 8 undies get too tight, which will be very soon, Xander's underwear drawer won't have those familiar faces staring back up at me anymore. Incredible Hulk. Ironman. Captain Jack. Doctor Cockroach.

Now it's on to big boy underwear. They're cute in their own way, and better than plain old tightie whities. Xander likes them because they don't pinch his waist. I was going to post a pic of him in his new undies, but in deference to my mother, I decided against it.

Am I a dork to feel sentimental about underwear? I know my SIL will give that a resounding yes! Still, it's just another sign that my boy is growing up. And I don't like it!!

Workin' at the Carwash!

Our poor vehicle has been languishing all summer without a single wash, and Xander was determined to right that wrong. He got Joe to commit to a car washing day, and as soon as we got home from daycare he had Daddy up and going.

As usual with Xander, what he lacks in experience he makes up for with enthusiasm. He do a little here, a little there, but not a lot of dirt actually came off. And since Joe was involved, Xander got good and wet from frequent "accidental" hose dousings.

I love watching these guys work together!

My Grandma Played Ball??

What I don't know about some of my family members is a lot. You know that question, where would you go if you had a time machine? I'd go back and interview my Dad's parents and his grandparents, my Uncle Tony, my great grandparents on my mom's side. All I know is what other people have told me about them, and sometimes it isn't much.

Take this picture for example:

This is my grandmother, Margaret Steigmeier (known to us as Meme). I never knew she played ball. Was she on a regular team? Was this a one-time special event? And what the heck is she wearing on her head?

I've e-mailed these pics to two of Meme's three kids, to see if either of them have some background on this for me. I can't even tell you the stacks of pictures, tons of scans, and towers of slides I have that are full of great moments captured on film...that mean absolutely nothing to me. Who are these people? What were they doing, thinking, feeling?

This is why I scrapbook. So that Xander and his future family will never have to wonder those things about me. Of course, with me it might end up being a case of TMI!!

Cobleskill Sunshine Fair

The annual Cobleskill Sunshine Fair is in full swing. We don't always go, but this year we made plans to meet up with Destiny and his family for the day. Once we got there, we also ran into my in-laws, and Xander somehow got his Pop-Pop to buy him a wristband so he could go on rides all day. The first thing he went on was the bumper boats. And let me tell you, that's a place I'd have hung around all day because it was HOT and water was nice and cool.

Xander certainly made the round of rides this year, and even got some grown-ups to ride with him. Pop-Pop took him on the ferris wheel, and Grandma took him on the Flying Bobs. Even Joe, who almost never goes on rides, was talked into a spin on the bumper cars. This is my favorite picture from the whole fair!

Of course, we took a turn through the livestock barn and Progress Land. Xander loves going there to stick his hand in the hot tubs set up for display. But unless we were in the midway, he was bored and whiney. Business as usual! But I stood my ground because I wanted to see the bunnies, and the sea lion show which was hilarious.

Even though I hate spending the money, we did play some games. (They cost way too much for the junk you get.) Despite my misgivings, Xander took a turn at darts and the carny made sure he won a little something. We played the water game, Xander did one of those prize-every-time fishing games, and he joined Destiny and Joe in the quest to win one of those huge ring toss prizes. Needless to say no-one brought one of those home this year!

At the end of the day Joe and I were about dead on our feet. We'd been at the fair for six long hours. Joe's knees were hurting, and I was sporting a nice burn on the backs of my arms. But Xander wanted to keep on riding. I found a couple more kid rides he could tackle on his own, then went with him on one of those rides that whips you around really fast in a circle. He loved that one!

By the end of the day, we were out of money and Xander had an armful of junk. It was fun, but I'm glad we only go to one day of fair!