You Don't Know.... The Power... of the Dark Side

Obsessed.  Ramsey is obsessed.  Star Wars.  Everyone knows this.  Not a shocker.

A few weeks ago, he lugged a couple of his 31" Star Wars figures back upstairs (he did it all by himself).  I lugged a few back down, he brought another up.  Currently, Darth Vader and R2-D2 remain in our living room.  Oh, 'tis glorious decor.

So, Eric and I got out his Darth Vader costume (a last-year's clearance find!) with mask, and our voice-changing helmet (a must-have big-boy toy for Eric!).   He wanted nothing to do with the super long cape or either mask at first.   It took a little while, but he eventually warmed up to the smaller of the two masks.    He started having lots of fun playing pretend.

Daddy reminded him how to use the voice-changer on the large DV helmet.  Then, our kid was hooked.  The cape?  Still not so much.

Check him out... he actually understands the concept of how the good jedi, Anakin Skywalker, is pulled to the dark side and then turns into the notorious Darth Vader.  He's "transforming" here.

A day or so later, I had found a pair of 100% cotton Darth Vader PJs that looked like a real Darth Vader costume on Amazon.  It had a [short and removable] cape and everything!  So, I bought them (can't help but spoil him).   I found a storm trooper mask.  I bought it too.

From the minute our friendly UPS man delivered them to our door step, he didn't want to take them off, not even to eat.  Here, we have a "mix and match" outfit (how do you like those crazy green Yoda socks?), until we find him a proper Storm Trooper outfit!

Now, he puts the Vader outfit on, grabs his light sabers, and goes around telling everyone [they] "don't know the power... of the dark side!" and other humorous bits, in true DV fashion.   I could really use a light saber audio clip here.  Oh wait, here's one: LIGHT SABER

...using "the Force" on me here.

Notice we had to put on his light-up Darth Vader Skechers tennie runners too just to complete the look.   Gotta "coordinate", ya know.  ;-)

And when he's not flashing a saber or chanting Star Wars rhetoric, he's standing next to Vader "comparing" his fancy new outfit to his action figure's!  He tries to take off Vader's helmet too, but that doesn't bode too well.

May the Force be with you.

WHOOOO is in Eric's Office?

A few minutes after picking Ramsey up from preschool yesterday, Eric calls.  "Are you still in town?  You should swing by the office.  I have an owl in here."    Let's say my interests were peaked, but I wasn't able to get more details, as I had a three-year-old in the back seat who was apparently having "issues".

So, Mom, Ramsey, and I drove to the PD, all the while not having a clue what we were going to see.  Was it going to be real?  Alive? Stuffed?  Or would he have a handler?  Why was he there?

When we arrived, here's who we met:

Fondly named Archimedes by my dear husband (not after the great Greek mathematician/astronomer, but for Merlin's owl in Disney's "Sword in the Stone" - apparently they have quite the similarities!), this juvenile Great Horned Owl had been found in one of the local parks.

After an initial quick assessment, they found that his right wing had been damaged, most likely due to having flown into a high line wire.   Animal Control rescued him and brought him back to the police department to be held temporarily, until the Game, Fish & Parks could pick him up and then thoroughly evaluate his health and help him.

Ramsey seemed to like him.  Of course, he wanted to touch him, but that's a huge no-no (his little finger could have been mistaken for a juicy fat little worm).  He smiled and hooted, saying "hi owl!".
We wish Mr. Archimedes a speedy recovery and a quick release back into nature!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Update: 4/6/17.   Archimedes now has a new home at the Bramble Park Zoo!

A Funky Fish

It's not too often that we get worked up over a carp we've caught (unless it's insanely huge), but on our little venture to the new hot spot last Monday, Eric reeled in this never-before-seen (at least by us or anyone we talked to) carp.

Eric sent pictures of it to his buddies and colleagues.  No one had a clue as to what kind it was.

After Eric did some more research online, he found it appears to be a Mirror Carp, which are commonly found in Europe.  It is said that they were originally bred by monks to have less scales for easier cleaning.

The Spring Fishermen

Spring is here and one of the local fishing "hot spots" has started warming up!

Eric caught wind of the news last Monday and we tried the spot, albeit a bit chilly and windy for my taste.  Admittedly, I lasted for about an hour before I wimped out, went back to the truck, and relaxed (geez that felt nice!).  We came home with a few; just enough for a fish fry supper for four, plus leftovers.  Yum!

This last weekend, the weather was a bit nicer and Eric and Connor took another stab at it.  They drove the short drive (about 25 minutes away) to spend some wonderful father/son time for most of the afternoon and early evening.

Here's Connor with one of the carp they caught.  It was indeed a carp fest.  Connor really got a kick out of them; they fight and are fun to reel in!

Meanwhile, Ramsey and I had taken the day off to have some momma/son time.  We decided to get ice cream, stop at Hobby Lobby, drop off our Goodwill loot, and get a few food items.  You'd think Ramsey had won the lottery when we stopped at the ice cream place.

Meanwhile, back at the fishing hole, the elder of the D-man crew spent about 6 hours fishing, catching half of their load in the last half hour, just before dusk.  They came home with their fill of walleye; eight lovely fatties.  They were quite pleased to say the very least.  Also, they were very pooped!  (When they weren't whisking in reeds and weeds, they were fighting and reeling in the aforementioned huge and plentiful carp.)

 They returned to the hot spot on Sunday.  As it was quite crowded, they weren't quite as lucky, but still managed to bring home four nice specimen!   And, [anxiety-ridden] Daddy turned over the reins and had Connor fillet the precious walleye.  He did a good job!

Mr. Business Man

Auntie Peggy first gave Ramsey the little "business man" a nod, buying him a fun little GQ-looking romper (this baby pic is from almost exactly 3 years ago!!).  Since then, he's been growing into Mommy's little office helper.  I'll explain.   :-)

While Nana Karen was home for the weeks recuperating from her hospital stay (Influenza A, pneumonia, etc - whoah), Ramsey was my constant sidekick during the working hours of each day.  Since he wasn't thrilled about being couped up in my office all day while I had to work, I simply brought my laptop and some files up to the kitchen table to work temporarily.  There, he had free reign of the kitchen and living room, where I could keep an eye on him.

However, just as I had turned away for a few minutes one day, Ramsey thought it fun to take on my job and wanted to "work" himself.   When I came back into the room, I found him typing away on my keyboard and talking into my headset!   He was typing letters, then saying a word that started with that letter ("V for vampire" - I know, don't say it, "K for knight", etc).

He was having such a good time, I let him pound away for a few minutes... until he got into my email and started generating new emails.   That could have gotten a little messy!

Qeepsake Questionnaire

For the past year or so, I've subscribed to a weekly question-of-the-week about my growing wee one - from a site called Qeepsake.   They text age-based questions to my phone and if I reply to them, Qeepsake will document the answers on their site for me to print later. I thought it'd be fun to note some of these little oddities that I wouldn't normally jot down or keep in mind.  It will be fun when he's much older to use these Q&A's when taking a trip down Memory Lane!

Qeepsake Q&A:

What kind of games are you playing with Ramsey?

Typically, "game time" is all about light saber duels, either using his actual light saber toys - or literally ANYTHING he can find  that he deems suitable (usually he's in my drawers, dragging out every spatula, whisk, or other large cooking utensil).   I've been trying to get him to sit down and play the Angry Birds version of Chutes & Ladders, but he doesn't seem very interested! He will move the guys around and play with them, but doesn't play with "rules" yet.

We do play with Play Doh, Kinetic sand, colors (not too interested yet), Legos, etc.

What does Ramsey like to do for playtime?

Refer to previous question.  Also, Ramsey loves playing with all of his Star Wars characters.  He also likes to get out his trains, cars, and play Scribblenauts, Angry Birds (Star Wars, Stella, GO!), or watch YouTube videos (Super Simple songs, Star Wars, Legos, Trump/Clinton JibJab head spoofs -oye yi yi) on his Kindle.

Ramsey LOVES to go outside, so when it's nice, he's on his trikes or swinging/climbing/sliding on his play set.

Can Ramsey have candy?

Ramsey can have candy.  However, the only candy he likes is chocolate or suckers, neither that he eats too frequently.   Hard or gummy candies are out, as he gags on them!  (sorry, but true).

Did Ramsey do anything nice for anyone today?

Ramsey gives the best hugs and kisses to all of us (and to Riggsy too).  His "Love You's" at night make hearts melt.   The other day at school, his friend hurt himself.  Ramsey gave him a kiss and said "no sad, HAPPY!"

What is Ramsey's favorite book?

He is loving "The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales" (don't like the word "stupid" in there, but the stories are funny).  He likes Dr. Suess also (One Fish, Two Fish; The Foot Book, etc).  "Goodnight Forest Friends" is still a mainstay.

Has Ramsey done anything that has surprised you lately?

Ramsey is constantly surprising us with little things that he does.  He's been making up his own songs lately which make us chuckle.  He understands way more than we think or give him credit for.  

This morning, Eric told me that (on the way to preschool) they were listening to "Star Wars Cantina" song in the truck (four times!), then Eric let the CD continue to play.  After a few more songs, Ramsey shouted "OREO!".  Eric thought he wanted an Oreo cookie, but then when the next song played, it was "The White Stuff" by Weird Al - a song about Oreos!  Ramsey had only ever heard the music playlist once before, so it was crazy that he would know the sequence of the songs!

Is Ramsey introverted or extroverted?

No question, this child is an extrovert!!!  Everyone he meets is a new buddy.  If we are in a store and he says hi or someone else says hi, he then says "Bye Friend!"  before walking (or being carted) away. 

When two firemen were at our home installing new fire alarms, Ramsey greeted them at the door, hugged them, and wouldn't leave their side the entire time they were here.  

What is something surprising about Ramsey?

I thought this was a rather redundant question.  We may be biased, but this kid is one smart cookie and he understands EVERYTHING.  He remembers all that we do too, it seems.  At bedtime the other night, he was telling me about Auntie Shana.  He talked about how she gave him a haircut, how they danced (in her salon), that he gave her a chocolate sucker, and that she was "fun".  That experience was well over a month and a half ago and he just brought it up again out of nowhere!

What is Ramsey's favorite store?

If I had to guess, I think it would be Kesslers, a locally-owned grocery store.  When we go shopping there, they give free cookies or fruit to kids.  And, they have the best donut holes in town - and that is his special treat.

What is bedtime routine like with Ramsey?

The ritual:  Pottie time, some time on Daddy's lap watching Star Wars stuff on YouTube while drinking a small bit of "nigh nigh milk", then night night hugs and "Love You's".  In bed, he gets a story or two, we say our prayers (our thanks and blessings to God, The Lord's Prayer - Ramsey is learning and doing well!), he gives his final goodnight and Love You to me, and he rolls over and goes to sleep.  He seems to like going to bed, as he doesn't typically put up any type of fuss.

Does Ramsey know any letters of the alphabet?

We're working on teaching him the ABC Song, but he has known all of his letter and numbers for quite some time!  - Little smarty pants!

What did you do with Ramsey today?

Nana Karen is still recuperating from being in the hospital, so I am watching Ramsey while I work.  I picked him up from preschool, went to the store to buy puppy food, made him some lunch, and the rest of the day will be spent watching Legos Star Wars, playing Star Wars guys, playing Kindle, chasing Riggs, and then hanging out on Daddy's lap when he gets home.  He's currently vying for a donut!

What is Ramsey's favorite TV show or movie these days?

Lego Star Wars, all episodes, are his favorites!  

Does Ramsey have a favorite song?

Lately, Ramsey is obsessed with "Star Wars Cantina" and Weird Al's "The White Stuff" - aka the "Oreo song".

What is something Ramsey has difficulty with?

Ramsey still has issues sleeping through the night.  And, potty-training; he just doesn't seem to give a rip!