He was basically in our back yard....

Yesterday the President was visiting our city. Oddly enough, his venue for the day was a little recreation center that was minutes away...

So, Jon and I grabbed Cooper, picked up a pal from down the street and headed over to see what we could see.

Regardless of party preference, I think that for a child, even for an adult, there is something really exciting and powerful about seeing the President. Or in this case- his motorcade. Just the security alone was exciting!

The weather couldn't have been worse for standing around waiting for something to happen- perhaps I could have used that time to check the settings on my camera. I had my ISO on 800. So much for high quality photos to capture the moment!



The boys had flags and umbrellas but by the end, we were all soaked.
Even the friendly Secret Serv!ce agent who was guarding our corner of the route.



Our wait paid off though-
After about 50 motorcycles sped by...



We saw his limo!



Or maybe it was his decoy and this was him...


Or perhaps this....


No matter, the boys were convinced that they saw "HIM" and we walked back to the car to warm up and dry off.

Good times, great memories!

Fungus & Updates

A while ago, Joan at For the Love of a House talked about decorating with things you find in nature.

Her post tugged at my heartstrings because my mom is big on bringing the outside in. When we were little she was always collecting pods and pine cones and other "stuff" for her to work into making our house feel homier (is that a word?).

This is the scene at my parents house right now-





See, home-y.

Joan is big on using nature too and did this post, which I loved. In case you don't click over- she talks about these awesome tree fungi also referred to as "conks". After I read it I thought- a) how awesome are those conks and b) that must be a northern thing because I've never seen those here and c) I find it odd that I'm thinking so much about tree fungus!

Fast forward to last week when I went outside to throw some stuff in our compost bid. I'm not sure I posted this, but sweet Jon gave it to my for my birthday, and although it seems like a gift that might get a husband in trouble, I really do love it. Evidently, he wasn't liking it's original location and so he moved it to another place in our yard.

And, that place just so happened to be next to a tree that has a conk growing on it!



I know, I know- it doesn't take much to throw me over the edge.
I am really so excited! (although I'm not sure that it's the healthiest thing for the tree).

I yelled for Jon who thought I had lost my mind and after I explained said- you should blog about it. He makes me laugh.
Then, I sent an e-mail to the only person I knew who would truly share my excitement. Yep, JOAN.

Thank goodness for sweet blogging friends. Joan couldn't have been more happy for me. Thanks Joan!

I'm going to keep an eye on it and see how big it will get. I've also scouted out all the trees nearby for others without success.



Beauty in unexpected places- there is a lesson in there somewhere!

In other riveting news, we're doing really well without our TV. I don't think we've missed it too much. I didn't even blink about missing Gabby, Susan, Ree and the gang on their season premiere. Crazy.

I have played some wicked card games with the Coopster- and that makes me smile.

Hope you have a great day-

Happy Birthdays-

My parents birthdays are a week a part and five years separates them. In in my head, I had them turning a year older than they are. I'm not sure how I got that wrong (could it be that darn signapore math that's throwing me off??) but somehow I did.

It doesn't change how much I adore them...but it did add a little more pomp and circumstance than usual to their celebration. Nothing wrong with that!!

Today is my moms big day-

Happy Birthday Mom!



and last week, my dad had his.
Happy Birthday Dad!


I introduced them to gourmet cupcakes.
(I think they're hooked!!)

Love you guys!!

Seriously???? Singapore Math???

How is it possible that I am failing 3rd grade math?

I am useless and my child is on a puddle in the floor....
Ugggggghhh.

The Triple!

Weekend #2- Baseball. Again.

Cooper and Jon had some father son batting practice this week and it paid off.
That little kid knocked it way out into the outfield.



And guess who was screaming like a banshee??
Yup- me.
To everyone there, I was the world's biggest baseball fan.

Ugh.

He actually made it all the way home, but there's a rule about taking another base when the ball makes it back into the in field.

So, it was technically a triple.
No matter- he was THRILLED (we all were).

If you're able to get by the crazy hair and teeth...you can tell just how excited he was.



And when he wasn't hitting....he was playing catcher.



He's got the corner on the market for catching- it's all about the protective cup. It's a requirement for being the catcher and suspiciously, most boys don't have one.



Cooper? He won't leave the house without it.
It's really quite comical.



We ended game 2 with a victory.
One for the team for sure, but also one for Cooper.

His confidence grew by leaps and bounds....he was so proud, and really quite shocked by his accomplishment.

And the best thing for Jon and me?

Seeing our child go from this...



to this-



It's a game changer, in so many ways.

So Long Pal....

Been nice knowing ya.

Today is the day that we're turning off our cable.

Yup.
No.More.TV.
So long...farewell....

Oh, the horrors.....and with ABC Red Carpet Premiere Week just around the corner.

I was talking about it at work and my boss asked, "what kind of a moron turns off their tv with an 8 year old in the house?"

Um....Us!
(to note, I adore my boss...totally adore!)

Everyone seems to have the same reaction....WHY???

Maybe we're crazy, maybe it won't work, maybe I'll go into complete withdrawal, maybe it will be the worst thing we've ever done.

But maybe...just maybe it will be ok.

Maybe we'll all read more.
Maybe we'll spend time talking to each other during the week.
Maybe we'll find new ways to spend our early mornings, nights, afternoons and weekends.
Maybe we'll play games together.
Maybe we'll be inspired to be more creative.

I know we'll save money...

We'll try it for 6 months and see what happens.
It's not like we can't call the cable company and tell them that we made a mistake.
It's also not like I can't watch my beloved favorites on the internet...or hulu, or netflix.

How's Cooper handling it?
Pretty well. His eyes got a little teary, but overall he's been ok with the idea. We don't have tv at the river so the idea isn't totally foreign to him.

We'll see how it goes.
Wish us luck....you know, since we're basically morons and all!!

Geographically Challenged

Cooper and I were snuggling on the sofa this morning.
He was playing football on his PSP and I was checking e-mail.

This was our conversation-

Him- Hey Momma, help me pick the teams.
Me- Um, the Eagles?
Him- Ok, who should they verse?
(for more details on versing, click here)
Me- How about the Patriots?
Him- Are they from New England?
Me- Yes, do you know where New England is?
Him- Yea, it's in China.

I burst out laughing....I couldn't help it.
So, we had a quick lesson on exactly how far New England is from China and then, which states comprise New England.

Clearly he enjoyed summer a little too much...good thing school's back in session!



He does make me laugh!

Baseball- the saga begins....

Since Cooper entered this world, I have done everything possible to remove even the smallest reference to baseball from his life.

I'm against characters in general on baby clothing, but I could tolerate a sports reference as long as it wasn't baseball. If you happened to give me a gift when he was born that contained a baseball theme- I apologize...but I exchanged it for soccer or football or basketball.

As he got older, I continued the trend. We didn't talk baseball, think baseball or pay one single bit of attention to it.

Why?
Because I think that baseball is boring.
(gasp)
I realize that it's the All-American pastime...but I really just don't see the draw. I also think it takes entirely too long.
I like a game with a defined start and end.

Slowly though, baseball has crept in.

My dad went to Louisville and bought him an official Louisville Slugger- complete with his name engraved into the wood.
My mother sent a box of age old random baseball gloves from our garage.
My my sister-in-law dug from obscurity Jon's old baseball glove and presented it to him complete with glorious stories from the past.

AND, the Flying Squ!rrels came to town.

Consequently, Cooper has decided that baseball is his FAVORITE SPORT IN THE WORLD.

I'm doomed.

But, because I'm quite possibly the greatest mother in the world (no laughing), I signed Cooper up for "Fall Ball" at our local Little League.

And that's how we ended up spending a sunny September afternoon here.



Instead of here.


Cooper's 1st game was one of his proudest moments.
The child was over the moon.

His one wish was to play catcher.


Wish granted.



I've got to admit, he did look adorable in the gear.
But the game was loooonng.
Thankfully, they do have a bit of mercy on the parents and the game can only last 1 hour and 50 minutes.

They won!


(which doesn't help my quest for Fall Ball to be a one time thing...)

But really, when it comes down to it...what wouldn't I do to make this little kid happy?

Nothing.

So, for the next 6 Saturdays, I'll be cheering from the stands...


...for one little boy to live the dream.

I think I can manage!

Earl

These are our friends George & Jess.



They have hit national news because their vacation was cut short by Hurricane Earl.
You can share in their 5 minutes of fame by clicking here-

I'm thankful they're home safely & love that they were picked from obscurity to be interviewed!