Flu shot fun? Oh yeah!

Some people dread getting the flu shot each year.  Not my Toppall team and me.  We make getting a flu shot an event!  Our pediatrician offers 3 flu shot clinics each year.  The clinics are two hour blocks of time, where you walk in, get the traditional shot or the mist in the nose and then walk out.  It's easy-breezy! 

My friend Beth takes her two kids (same ages as Ian and Sam) to the same pediatrician as us.  The doctors offices are located in Fairfax Corner and conveniently situated one floor above the Ben and Jerry's.  Seriously, how great is that!?!? 

Beth and I purposely pick the flu shot clinic that is offered on a weekday evening and meet for dinner beforehand.  Our restaurant of choice is Rio Grande.  Afterwards, the kids get the vaccination (or as Ian calls it "The flu up the nose") and then we finish our outing with ice cream at Ben and Jerry's. 

We've been doing this for 4 years now and have no plans of stopping.  It is so much fun for everyone that the kids don't even know what hit them when walking into the pediatrician's office.

Getting your medicine goes down so much easier with good friends, good food, and a good time.



How can you not want this frozen yogurt with a cutie-patootie like Sam?
 

Superhero!

Faster than a three year old wearing out a toy.  More forgetful than the absent-minded professor.  Able to induce a sense of deja vu similar to seeing a set of identical triplets.

It's a bird, it's a plane, no it's Jeff losing his umbrella again.

Singlehandedly, my husband is protecting the greater Washington D.C. Metro area one raindrop at a time.  Each time it looks like bad weather is in the forecast or even hinted at, Jeff reaches in the hall closet for an umbrella to bring with him to work.   And each day, upon his return home at the end of the day, he tells another tale of losing (misplacing) his umbrella at Union Station.

It has happened so frequently that I can't help but break out into giggles when he calls to tell me he is at the train station waiting for the VRE, and then inevitably, he groans and says with a pained voice, "OH NO!  Not again!!".   At some point, he has put the umbrella down and then walked away.

I am sure the people at Union Station must be thinking this is their lucky day.  A few more months of Jeff working downtown and it will be everyone's lucky day at some point.

Anyone know if they sell umbrellas in bulk at Costco?   It's time to stock up again.

Vote!

Even if the guy we voted for doesn't win,
we are still winners for getting out to vote.

As I write this (Tuesday evening, just before the polls close in VA), I have no idea who has won the presidential election.  But I do know, that I absolutely love living in a country that allows us the freedom to chose who we want.  We can vote for Obama, Romney, or even write-in a candidate if we so feel the urge. 

Even if we can't unanimously agree on who should be in the White House, I am grateful that voting is a right we have.  One that shouldn't be taken for granted.   How fortunate we are that our voices are heard and our votes get counted.  There is no better place to live than the United States of America. 

I felt such pride going to vote on Tuesday and taking Ian with me to experience the process.  I wanted him to feel like he was a part of it.  We chose the electronic version for voting and Ian pressed all the buttons, after appropriately letting him know which ones to push.  When it came time to the final big, red button to "VOTE", I said to Ian I wanted to get a picture of him pushing it.  He looked at me and whispered, "No, Mom!  I'm not really supposed to be voting."   It was super cute and the button got pushed too quickly before I could get the camera ready.

Even Sam got in on the voting process and her Pre-K class had an election on which snack to serve -- noodles or crackers.  I asked her how they voted...did they raise their hands to show which one they wanted?  Sam replied with, "No, we had to keep our answers a secret.  No one could know what we were picking.  We had to cross something out on a piece of paper and put it in the box."   In case this particular election doesn't get announced on the nightly news, the majority picked crackers, despite Sam, Ainsley and Jacob picking noodles.  So much for confidentiality among the 4 year olds.

I remember fondly the first time I ever got to vote.  It was the 1992 election and I was in college.  The election had Bill Clinton and H. Ross Perot running against the incumbent George H.W. Bush.  How great that all 3 men running were left handed?  I was so giddy and excited to be able to vote that on my way out of the local voting hall, I had to restrain myself from hugging the complete stranger walking out the same time I did.  I really don't think this man would've appreciated being assaulted on the way to his car.  One of my friends in college came up with the idea to call the Democratic National Headquarters and ask where the party was going to be held for the volunteers.  We were told the Hilton in downtown D.C.   The four of us crashed the volunteer's party, celebrating everyone's hard work (not ours, of course!) during the campaign.  It was beyond exciting being there and I remember going to a pay phone and calling my mom to tell her to look for me on tv.  My friends and I stood out among the thousands of partygoers, because as soon as we walked in the gigantic ballroom, we noticed the table centerpieces and quickly made them into wearable headwear.  The centerpieces were patriotic red, white, and blue standard-sized cardboard hats with red, white and blue carnations sticking out of the top of the hats.  I can imagine how silly we looked, but we got caught up in the moment and was having a blast.  I remember people asking us where we got our cool looking hats and some even offered us money for them.  

When the results were announced, during a live broadcast at the party, the entire room erupted into cheers and applause.  It was pretty amazing.  As the party was winding down, we jumped into a cab and went to Au Pied De Cochon in Georgetown (totally dating myself here -- this restaurant has been closed for some time), because they were opened late, late into the wee hours of the morning.  When the four of us walked in (still wearing the centerpieces on our heads), the entire restaurant clapped and cheered for us.  It was pretty darn cool.  Ah, how wonderful to be living in Washington, D.C. during this time. 

My subsequent voting experiences have been incredibly dull compared to the one in 1992.  However, yesterday made me all giddy again with joy as I showed Ian democracy in action.

No matter how this election turns out, we will always have another chance to have our voices heard and our votes counted.  That's just one of the reasons that makes this country so fantastic.

Butter on our popcorn, please.

It's well known that I love the movies.  My love affair with the movies goes way back to when I was a little girl.  I can remember going to the theatre and seeing every movie that came out.  I even worked in a movie theatre in high school (Florida) and then again during college (Washington, D.C.). 

There is just something magical about watching a movie and being transported to a different time and place.  I have some very distinct genres that I do not enjoy -- horror, western, and period/historical movies, but all others are fair game.  If its a chick flick and a comedy, I'm there.  A drama with a sappy ending, I'm there.  An action film starring any number of leading male stars and I'm there.  There is no twisting my arm to go.  Just showing up, with a big bucket of popcorn on my lap and watching a script coming to life is entertainment enough.  Even the movies that bomb and make us cringe while watching it, is fodder for many laughs for months to come with my friends and I. 

I've been patiently waiting for Ian to get old enough to show him some of my favorite movies.  Movies that are age appropriate and he'd understand and appreciate.  I think we've finally gotten to the point that we can do PG movies.  We watched "Back to the future" and Ian instantly wanted to see "Back to the future 2" and "Back to the future 3".  That's the kind of reaction I like to see.  How cool for him that he didn't have to wait two and three years between the next installments of the movie.

During our week at the beach, we brought the DVD of "Big" with us.  Got to love Tom Hanks.  It was really neat pausing the movie explaining to Ian how iconic the scene with Josh and his boss playing the keyboard piano at FAO Schwartz has now become. 

Last week, it occurred to me how much Ian would love the movie "Rudy".  This is easily in my top 5 all time favorites.  Ian loves football and what better, inspiring story of the "underdog" wanting to play football at Notre Dame, who has everything going against him.  I actually own this movie and couldn't wait to watch it along with him.  Unfortunately, I don't think Ian loved it as much as I thought he would.  He liked it, but didn't get moved to tears like I do at the ending, when the crowd starts cheering "Rudy! Rudy!  Rudy!" and Rudy finally gets his chance to play in the last 4 seconds of the last game of his Senior year.  Ah, what a movie. 

This weekend, we've got "Uncle Buck" at the ready.  I've found a great website, "Common Sense Media.org" that rates almost every movie out there and explains what the youngest age that should see it and what specifically gives it that age rating (violence, language, sex, etc).  I am not a stickler making sure that it has to be 7 years old or younger for the rating.  We are taking it case by case.  While Jeff can't wait to show Ian "Meatballs"  (Really?), I am eager to show Ian "Planes, Trains and Automobiles".  Both are not within shooting distance of being age appropriate yet.  I can still laugh out loud, without the movie even playing, just at the thought of the scene of Steve Martin and John Candy in the hotel room together.  "Where's your hand?"  "Between two pillows."  "THOSE AREN'T PILLOWS!!!!"   Ah, I can't wait until its ok for Ian to watch this gem.

Jeff and I have a list going of all the movies we can't wait to show Ian.  And, we get to do it all again once Sam gets a few years older.  What a great reason to stay in and make it movie night at Casa del Toppall.

This is who she is!

On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, between when Sam gets out of preschool and Ian's school day is over is a span of about 2 hours of time.  Sam and I have been known to go to Josie's with some preschool friends and get frozen yogurt from time to time.  This does not sit well with Ian, who LOVES going to Josie's just as much as the next person.  Inevitably, Sam lets it slip to Ian that we went to Josie's while he was at school.  As you can imagine, this causes a normally jovial Ian to become upset and bitter.

Time and time again, I tell Sam to not let Ian know where we went while he was at school.  And of course, somehow, it comes out to Ian.  One time, Sam made it a point to play with Josie's frequent visitor card while Ian was entering the car.  Another time, Sam said, "I am so full!" within Ian's earshot.  Each time, Ian quickly deduced where we went.

This last incidence of going to Josie's and not telling Ian took the cake.  As we are making our way through the kiss 'n ride line, I said to Sam "Remember, do not say anything to Ian about going to Josie's.  We don't want to upset him."   About 30 seconds later Ian gets in the car.  The first words out of Sam's mouth are, "What am I not supposed to tell Ian again?"   

And that was Sam's way of telling Ian without actually saying the words, "We went to Josie's."   :)



Shhh! Top Secret Frozen Yogurt Mission.

****************************************************************************

One morning before school, we are sitting at the kitchen table.  Sam is grunting loudly and making a face, visibly straining very hard.

Me: "Sam, are you ok?"

Sam: "I am trying to fart myself."


***************************************************************************

On his terms

Not quite yet old enough to grow facial hair,
but he's getting there. 

My 7 1/2 year old son is growing up.  He is finding his voice and letting me know how its going to go down.  I am still getting used to this "new" Ian. 

I love to take pictures.  Lots and lots of pictures.  I always have a camera available and I am not afraid to use it.  I thought the kids had gotten used to this by now, but I guess not.  When we were walking in to Cox Farms on Saturday, I 'warned' Ian I'd be taking pictures and he better cooperate.  He instantly came back with, "You can take 10."  I loved that!  He told me the limit he'd be comfortable with and I knew I'd get 10 chances to take a picture with him smiling and being happy I had my camera out.  It was a win-win for both of us.  What a smart cookie he was to come up with this idea and compromise.  And we had fun keeping count of the pictures I had taken and how many I had left to go.

At the beginning of the school year, I put a note in Ian's lunchbox.  It was the kind of note that had a tiny little envelope to go with it.   When Ian came back home at the end of day, I cleared out his lunchbox and found the note, still in the envelope, completely in tact.   I said, "Ian, How come you didn't open the note I left you?"  Ian, replied back with an exasperated voice telling me he didn't want the note and to not do this kind of thing any more. 

I think I made it a whole two months before I attempted something similar again.  On whim, as I was packing his lunch, I took a post-it note and wrote something quick like, "I hope your having a great day.  I love you." and put it in his lunch.  Ian got in the car at the end of day and quickly said with excitement, "I got your note at lunch.  You can do that again.  Not like all the time, but every now and then a note would be nice."

Also at the beginning of this school year, I made the off-handed comment that I couldn't wait to surprise Ian at school for lunch.  Last year, when he was in first grade, I showed up, on average, about once a month and ate lunch with him and his friends.  I loved it and so did he!  It was always a surprise, more because I never knew if my schedule was going to be free during his lunch time and I didn't want to disappoint Ian if at the last minute, I couldn't make it.

Very quickly Ian made it a point to tell me, that in no uncertain terms was I to come to his school for lunch this year.  He didn't want surprises and he didn't want me around during lunch time. I was only 'allowed' to come and eat with him and his friends, on his birthday (not until the end of May!!!!!!!!!!) and when he is made Star of the Week, because Thursdays are designated to eat lunch with your child when they are made Star of the Week.

Really?  Really?  Ian is only in 2nd grade and I am already embarrassing him?  I knew this was going to come at some point, I just didn't think it would start this early. 

The other day Ian gets in the car and says, completely out of the blue, "You can come to my school and have lunch with me sometimes.  Just not all the time."  Ian then sets the ground rules and says I can come once every other week.  Wow!  I feel like I've just been given keys to the city.  I'm not going to come nearly as much as Ian says its okay to come, but once a month would be nice (and ok by Ian's rules).  Woo-hoo!!

So, to whatever mother out there that has been sending notes in their kids' lunch box and showing up to eat with their child, THANK YOU!  Your making it cool for me to do this too, at least for this year. 

Ian is growing up.  I need to grow up too and let him. 

I heart Honda

Numbers displayed in the photo are real, not made-up.

Does anyone buy a car thinking that they will see it turn 160k?  I sure didn't.  Maybe 75,000, 100,00 tops,  but certainly not 160,000.   As long as my 2002 Honda CR-V will have me, we will have it.  These cars are built to last.  And since the likelihood that a pile of cash will not become available to get me a new car, I am now taking bets to see how high the mileage will be when Ian learns to drive on it.  I could see Ian sitting behind the wheel, navigating the streets of Burke. 

I drove the car off the lot with exactly 4 miles on the odometer, back on January 18, 2002.  It was a very exciting day for me as I never had a brand new car before, nor had bought one completely on my own.  I enjoyed inhaling that new car smell each day I got behind the wheel.  I think that smell lasted for at least a month, if not more. 

Fast forward close to 11 years later, and we are still going strong together.  I only take my car to be serviced at the Honda dealer I bought it at.  They are good to me and know that when I have a kid or two by my side, I need to get in and out quick. I have followed their recommendations for all scheduled maintenance and love the fact that I can trust my car on long road trips to get me where I need to go.

I will never own another car other than Hondas.  My dream car is the Acura MDX (Acura is made by Honda), but will settle for a Honda Pilot if given the chance, any chance to get a new car.  And by the time I am getting a new car, it will have all the bells and whistles that it can come with, plus a few others they haven't thought of yet.  Because, as experienced by me, once it becomes part of our family, it can never leave.  I am just thankful that back in 2002, it was standard for my model car to have automatic windows, doors and a sunroof.

The only really good thing about having a car this up there in age is that every October, our personal property tax bill is something completely manageable.  It's not even scary opening the envelope to see what we owe.

Three cheers for Honda!