Penn State Visit

We went to Penn State almost 2 weeks ago, but with my posting track record that's almost like yesterday. I ended up with the flu and slept in the hotel on Friday while Chris and Robby toured campus. 

Fortunately, I managed to pull it together by Saturday, and we had a great time. Still can't stand posting on my phone, though!  So I'll just say we only made it to half time because Robby was melting down, and that my child is INCREDIBLY obsessed with marching bands. 

He hasn't stopped talking about it since and asks daily if we're going back. Here is a fairly poor video of him singing the fight song. He really does know all the words and sings it all.the.time.  So fun!

http://youtu.be/n7jl6XrcpS4

Trips to State College

In my failure to post recently, I've missed some things that were actually, gasp, interesting.  Like, Chris and I went ALL BY OURSELVES to see the opening game of Penn State's season.  And, before you try to accuse us like one of Chris's cousins...no that does NOT mean Lion #2 is on the way.  We stayed with another one of Chris's cousins, and just had a good time.

And, you can pretend that this is even from this past weekend, because I wore this same outfit on Friday.  Though my hair is shorter now. 

We went up early enough so that we could see the pep rally on Friday, and then the game on Saturday.  We did not get to go out, though, as Chris forgot his ID.  Believe it or not, they still won't let him in bars, even though there isn't a chance we're under 21.  We did tailgate with some of his college friends on Saturday, and I may have consequently sent entirely too many of you text messages.  ;)

Ok, now this past weekend.  While this was not Robby's first trip to State College, it was his first time attending a game.  Well, he was in utero for #400, but that doesn't really count.

The car ride up could have been a complete disaster, but blissfully, it was not.  Traffic was awful, and it took us 5 hours to get there.  Robby napped for about the first 2.5, but after that?  It was all on me to entertain him.  I am very grateful that he is entirely obsessed with trucks right now, so a lot of the entertainment was pointing out the window and talking about each truck we went by.  I also brought a stack of books, including some he didn't know by memory, that I had checked out from the library.  He had his yankee doodle singing doll, a toy steering wheel thingy, and toy computer, and then his dad's iPad that had a few apps and the movie "Cars" loaded on it.  Robby still really has very little interest in tv or movies, so the video really didn't hold his attention for more than about 10 seconds, but it was worth a try.  But let's own up to it.  By the end I was relying on potato chips.  And there was still some screaming.  But overall?  It went much better than I would have anticipated.  

We got to State College around 5:30, and stopped in to McLanahan's for some subs and cookies, and then snagged a spot on a hill to watch the parade.  Please ignore Robby's food intake, or at least don't judge.  This weekend was far from following nutritional recommendations.  He had some sub, but then was very intrigued by the cookies (he does NOT usually get them).  So enthralled, in fact, that he kept trying to hand out 1/2 eaten cookies to all the people sitting around us.  They appreciated the sentiment, and thought he was cute, but...soggy 1/2 eaten cookies?!?!  Gross!

And, yeah, anything Mom is drinking is WAY better than what's in his sippy cup.  Even if they're both water, which is the norm.  At least he's getting better at drinking out of bottles and cups and it's not as big of a mess.  Though...off topic...every time we're in the bathroom, he insists on getting a little dixie cup of water, and then dumping it on the floor, smushing it, then throwing it in the garbage.  He may not have that concept.

In the little bit before the parade started, he met a golden retriever that was getting very nervous about the drums approaching, but still seemed to enjoy the attention.  And, fortunately, the owners were nice and didn't mind a toddler coming over every 5 minutes to say "hi".  He's got waving and saying, "Hi" and "Bye" down very nicely, and so is pretty good at melting strangers' hearts.  We, and everyone around us was referring to him as, "The Mayor" because of his outgoing personality.  Again, this is a mixed bag.  I'm glad he's friendly, confident, sweet, cheerful, all that...but terrified that he would just walk off with a stranger.  

When the trucks started going by?!?!  WOAH nelly.  He couldn't get enough of them.  And then there were bands, too?!?!?  He was dancing like a mad man, to the point that I saw a college girl videotaping him on her phone.  I honestly never know how to feel about that.  Do I think she had any malicious intent what-so-ever?  NO.  Was the time the guy at the swimming pool videotaping me running around after Robby in my bikini a little more creepy?  Absolutely.

He made it through a lot of the parade, but it was too long, so by 7:45 we left to go to the hotel.  That night...well...it was alright, but not as expected.  Robby flat out refused to sleep in the pack n play, but consented to sleeping in a bed with me.  Alright...it meant that I ended up going to bed with him at 8:30, but so be it.  I was tired, anyway.  He is currently waking up multiple times a night with nightmares and SCREAMING, often needing comfort to go back to sleep, so I've been pretty tired.  Chris, of course, managed to not even notice when he was in the bed next to us.  Men and their sound-sleeping.  Bah.

We hit up the Creamery for breakfast (bagels, not ice cream, though it was tempting), and were thrilled that the glee club stopped in to sing.  We chatted with some nice Northwestern fans (one named Robby), and then headed back for some "tailgating".  Our usual tailgate had been cancelled because of the rain, and it was less than ideal for us to fully set up ours, so we grilled a couple burgers and called it a day.  We went a bit early...and...I became the worst mother ever.

See Robby sitting nicely on the bench 2 pictures up?  Well, he started moving at lightning speed climbing over benches.  He made it over one, and then the picture above is the 2nd.  See my hand baaaaarely grasping his pants?  Yeah, he managed to go head first over the bench and conk his head on the cement.  He really wasn't too phased, but it was scary as anything, and I felt awful.  And...you will notice in all the rest of the pictures he has a giant egg on his forehead.  (Which, actually, daycare tried to have me sign an incident report for on Monday, because they thought it had happened when he and Louisa were fighting over a toy...but I digress.)

Our seats are really pretty good.  They're about 1/2 way up the lower section over my right shoulder in the above picture.  Robby, however, was not cool with sitting in them.  He wanted to move, there were too many people, it was his nap time (can I say going to a 12pm game is perhaps not the best choice for him?), and...it was just not happening.  He and I hung out on the concourse for the 1st quarter, and then Chris found us and said that his cousins had a bunch of space near them, and we should go join them.

Chris's cousins always make their way to the VERY top of the stadium, which is actually ideal for kids (don't steal this!).  They have room to spread out, move around, and generally be maniacs without disturbing other people.  Even better?  Robby had a bunch of 2nd cousins that were more than happy to chase him.

Note the horrible egg screaming, "Worst mom ever!"

I've raved about Nicole before, but here I go again.  I lament every time I see her that I wish she lived closer.  But, she's about 2 hours away from us.  Her dad joked that he'd have to drive her down to babysit.  She's still a bit young (about to turn 11), but soon!  And, oh man, is she eager to get to start babysitting!  She'd be fantastic.  She's so good with Robby.  Yes, this really makes me wish I had family nearby!

They continued the "stuff Robby full of crap" practice, and he chowed down on lemon water ice and nachos.  Sigh.  Totally with my permission, but, we'll have to figure out a healthier way to do football one of these days.

And...with cousins and 2nd cousins on babysitting duty?  We got a breather!

Our view from the top of the stadium.  It actually was a great spot to sit!  You got a really good vantage.

Around 1/2 time, Robby was starting to melt down, and we decided that we'd be better off driving home and letting him nap, then trying to stick it out.  Chris was BESIDE himself when the game got so good, but at least we got to listen to it on the radio (LOVE XM), and the trip home was fairly painless.

We were amazed how well Robby did with the crazy amounts of activity, though by the end he was a little manic and overtired, but generally?  Couldn't have hoped he would do better.  Great weekend!

And, just for fun, last year at the same time:

Guest Post by Chris: Success with Honor

This was not the planned post for today, but Chris felt compelled to address the horrible situation involving his alma mater, Penn State.  So today I am grateful to be married to a passionate, moral man and grateful for those who fight to protect the innocent among us.

“Success with Honor.” “The Grand Experiment.” For as long as I can remember these two statements have been synonymous with the Penn State family and with many that follow college athletics closely. To those that are not familiar with these statements, Joe Paterno created these beliefs when he started coaching 46 years ago. His idea was that you could have a student athlete that succeeded both on and off the field, one of upstanding character, and one that met certain high academic standards.  JoePa showed the college football world that this was possible over those 46 years, and we the Penn State Community believed every bit of it.  For the better part of my life I have believed in these statements, I have believed that JoePa was above all things, and that JoePa was God-like. Joe has been looked on by the sporting community as the one person that has done things right. Heck, Penn State is one of TWO NCAA Division 1 programs (Stanford being the other) that has never, and I mean NEVER been investigated by the NCAA for major violations of the NCAA bylaws for college athletics.  JoePa created that image by demanding excellence from his players on and off the field and preaching it to all that wear the Blue and White.  I had tears in my eyes when JoePa passed Paul “Bear” Bryant on the win record. Same when he hit win #400 last season.  I have always felt that JoePa is Penn State.  However, with one short sighted decision, all that Joe built was gone. 

This past weekend has been arguably the most trying time that the Penn State Community has ever had to deal with. I myself, a die-hard Penn Stater, am still struggling with the acceptance of the news that broke this past Friday evening about former coach Jerry Sandusky and then blew up on Saturday with the cover-up scandal.  Today I find myself struggling to feel the way I used to about my Alma Matter. Today I find myself saddened by the actions of not only Jerry Sandusky, but also those in power at Penn State, those that failed to do the right thing. Today I question what else JoePa and company lied about and hid over the years. Today I question my loyalty to the University that I grew up loving, attended, and graduated from.

My heart goes out to the victims of this monster that was allowed to walk around free and clear for 10+ years.  Those victims will live with memories that they will never be able to escape, no matter how hard they try.  The fact that most, if not all, of the victims were “at risk kids” being helped by what truly is a fantastic organization, The Second Mile, makes it even harder to accept.  These kids were sent by their parents to an organization that they believed would help mold their children into fine upstanding citizens. They were to be taught life lessons about what is right and what is wrong.  And they were sent to one place that is SUPPOSED to be safe, a University setting.  How are we, as parents, supposed to trust anyone if you can’t trust the staff at a major University?  This may be the part that rubs people the wrong way, I know it does me.

I first found out about the investigation of Jerry Sandusky earlier this year through Penn State fan sites and forums.  As quickly as the word broke that he was being investigated by a grand jury on allegations of sexual conduct with minors, the news was hushed.  At that time, my initial reaction was to think that, “well this will be ugly, but it will blow over quickly.”  Never in a million years did I expect that once the grand jury convened that several high ranking Penn State officials would be charged with perjury and failure to report a sex crime.  Never did I expect that possibly the biggest cover-up in the history of college athletics would be unveiled, especially when it involved Penn State.

Because of this, I am left with so many questions about a place that I love, a place that I worship.  Saturday night I wrote an email to the Board of Trustees demanding the resignation of President Grahm Spanier, Athletic Director Tim Curley, Vice President of Finance Charles Shultz, and Joe Paterno.  These were the men that failed to do what needed to be done.  Yes, Joe did what he legally needed to do by the letter of the law in reporting the allegations to his superior Tim Curley.  But he could have done more and he should have done more.  One thing to keep in mind is that we do not know what the GA told Paterno.  There are differing theories on the description Joe was given and this is crucial to how we judge JoePa.  If the description was merely “I think I saw Sandusky naked in the shower with a young boy” then it is hard to say JoePa did the wrong thing by merely reporting the matter to his superior, Tim Curley.  Now if he was told the specifics outlined in the grand jury report then Joe deserves to be judged harshly.  I can only hope that in the upcoming months more light will be shed onto what happened.  Maybe Joe did pursue this and was shut out by his superiors or told it was taken care of?  Is it likely? Especially knowing that JoePa runs the University, I don’t know.  One thing I do know is that Joe was not protecting a “buddy” because he and Sandusky had not gotten along for years, and that is a known fact.  I do not believe that Joe was part of the “cover-up” directly. I think Joe's failure was in not doing more than he did.  Morally JoePa should have made sure the police showed up and investigated this incident immediately.

Ask any of my friends or family and they will tell you that I am a loyalist to the extreme. Yes, I wanted JoePa to retire about 10 years ago already and yes I hoped that this season was truly it for Joe (which as a side note I really think it was regardless of the current situation).  Everything was set up for a great end of a career.  His contract was up at the seasons end, he turns 85, he has the all-time win record for Division 1 football, PSU has a great chance at the first ever Big Ten Championship game and a great New Year’s Day Bowl Game.  JoePa has done it all.  But now?  Now, that incredible career is tarnished with a stench that will never go away only because JoePa appears to have chosen to do the bare minimum.  Maybe I am wrong about JoePa.  Maybe people won’t judge him as harshly after we learn more about what happened.  Honestly, I hope that is the case.  It would be really sad to see everything that JoePa built at Penn State be labeled with an asterisks.

One major issue I have with the Penn State administration is that Sandusky continued to maintain an office on campus after the 2002 incident despite all the smoke around him.  Not only that, but he continued to bring children on campus despite being told not to.  Another thing to note is that Penn State officials did alert the Second Mile about these allegations and they also chose to do nothing.  They are just as guilty as Penn  State on this and no one seems to be evening mentioning that.

This upcoming Saturday I will travel to Penn State for the last home game of the season versus Nebraska.  This was a game that I was looking forward to prior to this past weekend.  The mood of the game has already been dampened, but I will go to support the student athletes on the field, especially those playing their last game in the Blue and White.  I won’t lie though; it will be very hard to mutter up the courage to sing the words of our Alma Matter though, especially the last two veruses: 

“When we stood at childhood's gate,
Shapeless in the hands of fate,
Thou didst mold us, dear old State,
Dear old State, dear old State.

May no act of ours bring shame
To one heart that loves thy name,
May our lives but swell thy fame,
Dear old State, dear old State. “

Those words just don’t feel the same today as they did last week.  I know they say that time heals all wounds.  For myself, and for other Penn Staters, we will survive. We will unite as one as we always have and always will.  For the victims of Jerry Sandusky, I can only hope that somehow their wounds are healed sooner rather than later. I know it is a stretch, but I can hope and pray that once justice is served that those victims can gain some relief in knowing the punishment was dealt.  I do hope that one day people will look at Penn State with respect like they did before.  The Penn State I know is not what is being drug through the mud right now. The Penn State I know is a proud institution with a proud fan base that does things the right way.  I hope that people will realize that when we say “We Are Penn State” that the “We” is not the individuals that failed to stop a monster.  The Penn State community is a very strong community and will remain strong despite the dark days we have ahead.   

Two Weekends for the Price of One

Since I failed to post last weekend's activities, too, here is a quick rundown of not one, but TWO weekends.

Two weekends ago we were incredibly busy.  We drove to State College to meet up with my parents, expose Robby to Penn State's campus for the first time where he could see it (I was pregnant last time I visited), and drop off Chris and my dad to watch the game.

After my mom and I left State College, Chris and my dad watched a game:

And my mom, the Lion, and I went to a sports bar in Rochester, NY where my cousin was holding his rehearsal dinner:

Robby was obviously the life of the party.

The next day, all of us were there for the wedding:

Everyone pictured was a relative.  Like the big group walking to the church?  Lots o' cousins.

Oh, we also inherited the family chair for the time being:

...And this weekend?  Not much happening.  We watched football, did chores, walked in Valley Forge.  Typical weekend stuff.

So, there's your picture-heavy, word-light recap.  The end.  :)

Yet Another Busy Weekend

The fact that it's 8:30, Robby still hasn't woken up, and I'm able to write this should speak volumes.  Little man is EXHAUSTED.  And, for once, I'm not that bad.  For approximately a month, he has been a TERRIBLE sleeper.  I'm talking an absolute minimum of 3 times a night being up...with the average being close to hourly, and bad nights being every half hour.  Chris finally took pity on me and has actually gotten up a few times this past week.  But, no matter what anyone says, I do not have an easy baby right now.  Anyway, onto what exhausted him in the first place.  The weekend.

It all started when Chris and I went to the Penn State/Temple game on Saturday.  It was great getting out, walking around, talking, tailgating, like back pre-baby.  Robby was home with grandma.  So we got to meet up with some people that Chris works with, and then sit in phenomenal seats...and watch a really painful football game.  It turned out alright, but OOOH.  That was touch and go ya'll.

It got really exciting towards the end of the game...and not in such a great way.  There were a group of people sitting in the box behind us that, shall we say, didn't have good manners.  Everytime something good or bad happened, things would come flying out of the box and rain down on everyone below.  I should say, the people in the box were Penn State fans, as were all the people getting littered on.  As the game wore on, tensions mounted, and words started being exchanged.  And there were plenty of young children who should not have been hearing what was being said.  The people in the box were intoxicated, and there was one man in particular who just had this entitled smirk that was doing his best to add to the situation.  Security, of course, spoke to the people in the seats (who were doing nothing) and not to the people in the box.  As Chris said, he wishes he knew what company owned the box so that they could be informed what sort of behavior had been coming from it.  Oh well.

Saturday night, some relatives of Chris's came over for dinner.  I suppose they are his cousin's wife and daughter, but I'd say the relationship is more like sister-in-law and niece, but you get the point.  We frequently meet up with them at Penn State games, but they live in Virginia, so they hadn't gotten to see the house or the kid before.

The next day we got to see Karleigh play softball.  Her team is currently Virginia champions, so they travel to play a lot.  They demolished their opponents, and while Karleigh wasn't thrilled with her batting, she did make it on base and did well playing 3rd.  I'm so glad we got to see her play for the first time!  She's truly passionate about it and is hoping to be able to go to college on a scholarship.  Crossing our fingers, but looks pretty good!

As much fun as all of it was...I am thrilled to say that there isn't much planned for next weekend.  There may be by the time it rolls around, though.  So, better take a cue from Robby and catch up on my sleep.