Shaved

Xander loves to shave when he's taking a bath or a shower. The only problem is, he likes to shave his entire face! I told him that men only have their whiskers, but still he insists on shaving his forehead, his eyelids, even his chest. Hope he grows out of that habit when he really starts shaving!

Reader's Theater

Last night was Reader's Theater at school. Both first grade classes divided into four groups to read four stories - The Three Little Pigs, Why Bear Has A Stumpy Tail, Three Billy Goats Gruff, and the Little Red Hen. The kids were all dressed up and looking cute!

Xander was in the third group, and he was reading the part of Big Billy Goat Gruff. He was pretty nervous but he did a great job and everyone was able to hear his lines. My little star! (See the new video at the bottom of the page.)

Afterwards there were refreshments in the cafeteria. Xander loaded up on brownies and cupcakes, and visited with his friend Ava. On the ride home, Xander read me the entire story, making sure he pointed out which lines were his as he went through it.

Not sure what second grade has in store, but I know that the third grade puts on a little play every year. I can't wait for that! I hope last night's performance gave Xander a boost of confidence for any future performances.

Saturday at the Drive-In

Saturday was drive-in day, and it sure was fun! Joe, Xander and I went to Eli & Krissy's for dinner (BBQ!!) and then headed out to the Unadilla Drive-In. Once there we hooked up with one of Eli's work buddies and his family and friends, so we were quite a crew.

We got there at 7pm, and the first movie (Shrek 4) didn't start till about 8:45, so there were some boredom issues with the kids. They played freeze tag for a while, and some other kids joined in. And some of us played a game where we would guess the name and something bizarre about the people around us (for example - that guy over there in the green shirt, his name is Bud and he invented Post-its).

Finally, after several bathroom and concession stand runs, the movie got started. I can report that Shrek 4 was okay - funny parts, but not as good as the first two - and I enjoyed Iron Man 2. Not to mention all those good previews, my favorite part!

Xander fell asleep before the second movie started, and ended up in the car sleeping in his booster seat. Most of the other kids didn't make it through Iron Man 2 either. By the time the movie was over and we got all packed up, it was about 1am, and another hour before we got home. Yawn!

But I had fun, and I'd definitely go again. Long live the drive-in!!

Just A Warm Thursday Afternoon

So, after several cooler, rainy days, yesterday was bright, sunny and 80 degrees. Woo! When I got home from work, the Brunos hit the yard to enjoy the weather. Joe cranked up the ole BBQ for some hot dogs and Joe-made burgers.

Xander dragged out the hose, the bucket, and various toys to use with both, including his umbrella. My job as to try and shoot him with the hose while he ran around and hid behind the umbrella. That was fun!

Then Joe tried to get Xander to do a Mary Poppins pose, since he had the umbrella at the ready. After several minutes of discussion about where Joe wanted Xander to put his hand, we finally got one decent pose.

Not to be left out, Joe asked me to take some pictures of him with his bike. Now that was fun! We took a lot of normal poses like this one.

Then he stretched out on the bike. This in itself was no easy feat. I had to stand by to offer balancing support, and to help sling his legs into position. I snapped the photo below, and then had to try to help him get back off the bike. In the end he just slid down onto the driveway. It was hilarious!

Who says the Brunos don't know how to have a good time?

Absolutely Abstract

Xander has been very into painting lately. I brought him home some new paints and paintbrushes this week and he was so excited! And my supply of printer paper has been rapidly shrinking as he whips off masterpiece after masterpiece.

These are almost all abstract pieces of art. When Xander draws with a marker or pencil, he draws people (usually fighting monsters, aliens or who knows what). But when he paints, he's just doing shapes and colors. In fact, he's done so many that he started hanging them up in his room. Here's his latest piece of art (I call it Abstract Dog):

Xander has been showing interest in moving up from watercolors to acrylics. Not sure I'm ready for that! The watercolors are so much more easily contained. But I don't want to stifle his creativity, either, so at some point I imagine he'll get an art set with "real" paints in it. And some art paper, so he can stop using my printer paper!

New Video Posted!

I just wanted to let you know that if you scroll down to the bottom of the page you'll find a new Xander video. This time he's dancing to the Simon & Simon TV theme song. Too funny!

The original dance was much funnier, but it happened so spontaneously I had to wait for the second dance before I could film it. This is what happens when you let your kid stay up late watching old 80s TV with you! LOL!

T-Ball Time Again

Well, it's that time of year again. Xander started his second and final year of T-Ball this past weekend. He's on the purple team this year, the Wolves. They didn't bring enough t-shirts for everyone, but Xander was able to score a hat. And I couldn't help but notice how tall he was compared to most of the other kids.

The kids ran drills - throwing, hitting, running bases. Then they played a quick game - each team got a chance at bat and in the field. Xander's strength is still in batting - kid can hit a ball, especially when it's not moving, LOL!

The T-Ball kids have a hard time running the bases. Almost all of them need to be prompted to run to the next base when the new batter hits the ball. Xander had a little trouble because the batting helmets are all so big, he could barely see where he was going!

My favorite part of the day was watching Xander play first base. He got the most action there - the kids that catch the ball are supposed to throw it there, and then Xander throws it home. He's got one dramatic throw!

Next weekend they'll play a longer game, and hopefully there will be more t-shirts to around. Warmer weather sure wouldn't hurt either!

Ever Vigilant

Xander is always on guard against threat of attack - from zombies, vampires, Sith lords, and random monsters. Almost every day we go up the driveway to wait for the school bus, there's Xander toting a baseball bat or a water gun or a light saber. You can't be too careful, after all!

The other day it was the water gun thingie he got from Aunt Margie for his birthday last year. He likes to shoot that, even when it's empty.

This morning I had to have a light saber duel with him while we waited for the bus. Embarrassing! But it's good to know Xander has my back in case of trouble, LOL!

1st Annual Boo Day

Following on the heels of Mother's Day, Xander decided that he needed his own day. So Monday became the First Annual Boo Boo Day celebration. Though I was assured this meant no school, the mean mommy sent him anyway. But on my way home I stopped at the Family Dollar and picked him up a floor puzzle. We put that together as soon as I got home.

Joe and I had leftovers for dinner, since our fridge is unusually full of them right now. I told Xander he could have whatever he wanted, and he chose a peanut butter sandwich (no crusts, of course) with BBQ Pringles and Cheetos on top. Blech!

This was followed up with a game of War, some SpongeBob viewing, and some reading together. And then the penultimate moment of Boo Boo Day (and probably the whole reason for it in the first place) was Xander getting to sleep in Mommy's bed - he's been begging almost every night for this opportunity.

So, it was a good Boo Boo Day. Yesterday Xander informed me that Boo Boo Day goes till Sunday, but I quickly quashed that idea. One day is more than enough! My kid...what an opportunist! :)

Mother's Day

Well, another Mother's Day has come and gone. It was a pretty good one for me, considering it involved me cleaning the bathroom, washing the dishes, and cooking dinner. I sure did feel like a Mom, though! And in Joe's defense, I didn't trust him to cook the dinner I wanted to my specifications. Pasta with red sauce and meatballs with raisins. Yummers!

Xander had made me a card at school, as well as a paper-holding-thingie out of craft sticks. Very cute! He spent a large portion of Mother's Day in his room cleaning and hanging up the tons of pictures he's been painting lately.

Joe made me a card, too. And got me Season 2 of Doctor Who (David Tennant, drool!). He had to work last night, so he spent a good chunk of the day sleeping. He also decided to get into the act when I colored my hair yesterday - I was looking to change things up, he was looking to cover all the gray in his beard. Unfortunately, the color came out kind of magenta for him, so he added some of his inky Just For Men black. Introducing Mr. Stripey Beard, LOL!

All in all, it was a pretty good day. I did get to finish one of my library books, and watched Leap Year after Joe went to work. This morning Xander informed me that it was Boo Boo Day so he can do whatever he wants when he gets home from school. Oh, yeah, this should be good!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there! And especially to my own awesome Mommo, my bestest friend!

May The Force Be With You

Star Wars Episode 7: The Battle for the Big Blue Barn

Xander Skywalker didn't have much Jedi training, but he was more than ready to face down his mortal enemy.

Darth Daddy was powerful and feared throughout the galaxy. Not to mention he was packing some seriously disturbing information - "Xander...I am your father."

And so the battle raged, from the porch all the way to the side yard. The lightsabers flashed and hummed. Good vs. Evil. Jedi vs. Sith. Who would win?

In the end, the Dark Side triumphed. But don't worry, because Xander Skywalker will return to finish what he started!

TV and Me

I was just chatting with my boss about the different things we're watching on television. For people who have no cable or satellite, the Brunos watch a whole lot of TV. This is thanks mostly to Netflix and downloads from Amazon.com. In fact, we're so preoccupied with TV that I did a scrapbook layout about it! Here it is:

1st Ice Cream of the Season

The weather has warmed up (80 degrees the last three days), the trees are blooming, and more importantly all of the seasonal ice cream stands have opened up. Yay! We went to Sundaes to get our first bit of ice cream for the season, and it was good!

Xander got his usual - a baby chocolate cone (the cherry was something new). He also gets a cup, because after a few licks he dumps the ice cream in there and eats the cone.

I got my usual - a small cup of chocolate ice cream with hot fudge sauce. I never had much use for cones, even the sugar cones. (And don't look at how gray my hair is!)

Joe got a milkshake. He normally gets peanut butter-chocolate, but this time he tried the creamsicle, which was pretty good. When the girl at the counter asked him what size, Xander said "Big! Cause he's a big guy."

One more reason to love the warm weather!