...+41...

The boys went out to practice pitching when they got home from school.

The wind-up...

...and the pitch...

Here's a shot from the other angle.

Use #71 for a Home Depot bucket  :)

Connor has gotten soOoOooOOoo much better at smiling on command...he actually  ReaLLy looks happy here.

Dinner was cheesy chicken biscuit cups with bacon...not pretty...but always a hit :)

Connor is starting a Minecraft club at BMMS.  Last night he was writing up his agenda for his meeting on Thursday and printing out maps of the server and other geek-related stuff...Sanford of course was quite helpful :)

I printed out this TNT block box pattern and filled it with candy for him to give to Mr. Frost who has volunteered to be the club advisor.  There is an entire website dedicated to making paper crafts out of Minecraft items...it is HySteRicaL!!!  They have blocky versions of Spiderman, Spongebob, and a St. Louis Ram player!  I sense a draining of printer ink once Connor finds the site!

....+40...

I did a little Valentine decorating yesterday...

Here's the entry table.  I just need to pick up a few bags of holiday M&Ms for my apothecary jar.  The red heart on the stand is a music box that Connor made at a Lowe's building event years ago.  It still plays and I think it looks sweet there...funny thing is that Connor gave it to Sanford since I was the one who took him to the build...I don't think Dad's properly appreciate that kind of thing :)

...and here's the squirrel posing over by the mantle.  He sure isn't that little guy in the picture frame any more!  We had those Valentine's pictures taken at the Picture People when Connor was in Kindergarten because he had injured his front teeth and we thought they were going to have to get pulled.  I wanted one more set of photos with that AdORabLe perfect little kid teeth smile....the oral surgeon we saw the next day said to just leave them alone and it all ended up being fine...of course...when he looked like this

I really didn't think it was going to work out well at all....

...+39...

Mondays are now both a positive and a negative thing...the negative is obvious...WhO wants to go back to work after 2 days of sleeping in and goofing off?? Not me! :)  But the nice thing is that Mondays are late start days for Connor (and Fridays he gets done an hour early...whoever made up that schedule was a PuRE GraDe A GeNiuS) so it's late start for me too...instead of a 5:00 wake up...I get to stay in bed until 6:15...  It's nice to break in the week slowly like that...

This is what it looks like EVERY day after school at our house

Yesterday, Connor did 20 math problems, read for 30 minutes, wrote 1 1/2 pages in his journal, did 4 pages in his science workbook and studied his preposition list...I don't know is it's middle school or the Academy...but homework has definitely become a much more time consuming part of our day.  

Everyone napped at the same time yesterday so I was a little crafty...

That subway art in the background can be printed out big as well...I think I want to go buy a frame and get it printed out this weekend to lean on the mantle...it's soooo CuTE!!

...+38...

On Sunday...everyone slept in...especially me...and the boys were on their own for breakfast.

Sanford had the Science Olympiad kids working in the garage again and I got a wild hair to cook...I must have been experiencing a little withdrawal since Sundays are usually BiG breakfast days...

First I made ravioli...I made them just cutting out circles and then I tried the KitchenAid ravioli attachment...man was that a nightmare!  I need to watch a few YouTube videos before I try that again...or just wait until my pasta class at the end of the month...

I only made half a batch of the ricotta/spinach filling and had pasta left.  The KitchenAid attachment came with a recipe for pumpkin ravioli which sounded like something that Connor would like.  I had all the ingredients and decided...Why not?? :)

That was when the real FuN started and I made a ridiculous MeSS with the Ravioli maker attachment...

There may have been a full blown foot-stomping, dish towel-throwing,  swear word laden fit here...

But since everyone was outside...I don't actually have to own up to it...

I threw away the mangled pasta and still had a full batch of the pumpkin filling...so I made some more pasta sheets and a batch of bechamel.  I made pumpkin lasagna instead...I knew Connor would eat it and I'd made enough ravioli for Sanford to have those...because I certainly didn't envision him eating pumpkin lasagna...

I just made an 8x8 pan since I knew it was just Connor and I... we both cleaned our plates.  It needed a little more liquid...it was a little dry, but the taste combo was definitely a keeper!  It's worth a second try since it got TWO thumbs up from the boy...which is unheard of for food that isn't chocolate or covered in whipped cream!  :)

...+37...

Slow Saturday...Connor spent the night at Grammie and Grandad's on Friday night and just wanted to play video games when he got home...which was completely fine since Sanford had Science Olympiad kids out in the garage all day building Boomilevers ...

Connor heard kids outside and went running out to investigate...

The bigger boys were out shooting hoops...this is becoming a pretty common scene at our end of the street...

Connor complains that he's the worst one out there and we keep trying to explain that he needs to practice to get any better.  Basketball is Sanford's favorite sport and I know he's love it if Connor would play...but Connor is definitely a bigger fan of baseball right now...

...+36...

This week's reading...ok...it was more like 9 days :)

In this stack I really liked Defending Jacob and The Homecoming of Samuel Lake

Defending Jacob was the story of a Middle School boy who is accused of murdering one of his classmates.  His father is a DA in the town and originally heads the investigation.  The book follows them all the way through the end of the trial and the beginning of a second one...the surprise ending was both disturbing and good.  It was definitely a can't put it down book.


The Homecoming of Samuel Lake is a well written story set in rural Arkansas of the 50's.  The book follows the Lake family, both adults and children, as they work through the obstacles in their lives.  It reminded me of  a dark version of Huck Finn or To Kill a Mockingbird.  Jenny Wingfield has written amazing characters...ones you would adopt in a heartbeat, ones you'd love to sit on the porch having a beer with, and one you'd love to personally run over repeatedly with a large vehicle.  It was one of those books you wish had a sequel because you just aren't ready to say goodbye to the people in it.  There is a fair amount of pretty graphic abuse...spouse, animal, and child...it's  disturbing but it's a big part of what makes the reader so emotionally entrenched in the book.  This book would make a great movie.

...+35...

I found some shirts online that I thought were HySTeRiCaL and ordered them for Connor....

Here's one....

You're asking right?  okay...I'm assuming you just said...

Connor, please tell me about your ZoMBiE disguise...

to which Connor would reply...

Seriously...how BoY is that?!?!?!?

...+34...

Connor's first Middle School Orchestra concert was Wednesday night.

He was more excited than nervous. :)

We stopped at Bertrand's Music on the way there and finally picked up the rock-stop we ordered him for Christmas...so he was all set.

I made the boys pose before we even went in. They are really becoming annoyed at the new blogging habit.  I stop and make them take pictures all the time now.  I do have to say that Connor is getting MUCH better at just smiling nicely the first time instead of giving me three rations of grief.  He's realized that I'm just going to make him keep posing until I get the picture I want and it's faster to just do it right the first time...if only he's apply that concept to homework...we'd be in GrEaT shape!

Aunt JoAnn and Grammie came to watch the show.  Grandad was sick.  Kathy came too, but we didn't see her until after the show.

I snapped one before the performance started while Mr. H was tuning everyone else's instruments...that bass looks GiNorMOuS...and it's only 3/4...not even full size!!!

There were some technical difficulties and Connor's name was left off of the program....teasingly I told him he'd better check and make sure he was still playing...I felt a little bad when he ran off to find Mr. H :)  

Mr. H stopped on his way out to mention to the audience that Connor's name was accidentally left off the program...Connor was obviously shy and embarrassed to be in the spotlight...HaH!!  That boy definitely has his father's -HaM-it-UP- gene!!!

Here is the 6th grade Orchestra performing their first song.  They played 4 songs and then the Advanced Orchestra played 4.

...concentrating hard...

We stopped at Golden Spoon for a treat after the concert...banana with M&M's, 1/2 strawberry & 1/2 pineapple, and cake batter with sour worms...obvs that last one was the boy's...cuz...EwWwwWWww...adult taste buds don't roll that way!!

It was a fun night and we were very proud of Connor.  He seems happy to have switched to the bass from the violin.  I do miss hearing him practice every night...he had gotten really good by the end of 5th grade...but I have to admit he does look studly playing that big ole bass! :)

...+33...

...sigh...

They finally got me...the nasty cold cooties that have been going around.  I'm not sure if it was Sanford's lingering  germies or the dripping crud the daycare kiddos all have...but I can't breathe and I feel like someone beat me with a stick...

I sent Sanford out to take Tuesday's pictures because I just wanted to go to bed...He snapped a few construction shots...a sample Boomilever in progress...

...balsa wood, gorilla glue, and lots of clothespins and patience...

His new design worked really well so the kids are going to tweak it a bit and make their own this weekend...I guess they are all coming over to our garage to assemble Boomilevers...I'm not sure what appropriate
Boomilever-er snacks are...marshmallows and pretzel sticks? :)

Connor's first Middle School Orchestra concert is Wednesday night...of course he waited until the night before to tell me he needs a white shirt...so I went out to Kohl's and spread my nasty cooties around while purchasing a new shirt... of course the shirt was 1/2 off the day before...but full price on Tuesday....again...sigh...

Who knew that having to rely on a Middle Schooler for information was going to be SooOOoOoOOOoo stressful?!?!?!?  It's either pulling teeth to get the smallest bit of useful facts or a torrential downpour of insignificant hoopla...I had no idea what he was supposed to wear to the concert until the night before...despite asking every day of the previous week, but I can tell you all about the broken pool cue in the game room and how you go about getting to play a round of pool...Homework, test dates, book reports due dates??? Those all have to be looked up on Learning Point to get anything right...but Instagram jokes and Minecraft factoids stream constantly...I guess I should be glad he still wants to talk to us at all...I know the day is coming where even saying two words to us will be physically painful to him :)

Ahhh....the joys of parenting...good thing he's so cute!

...+32...

We hadn't been down to see Banana since Thanksgiving...since I had Monday off for MLK Day, we decided it was a perfect time for a visit.

I love that Connor is always so excited to go visit her.  Sanford questioned me about it and I laughed...Connor gets babied, treated like a king, offered every junk food known to man, and usually there is a toy or cash prize involved...Grandma smooches on him and tells him how handsome and wonderful he is...what's not to like?!?!?

Connor and I brought down some pastries and then we all chatted for a while.

We exchanged Christmas gifts and gossiped until lunchtime...Grandma had decided when I called her earlier in the week that she wanted to take us out for lunch.

I forgot to take any pictures until we were at the restaurant...so not the best picture ever...

It's funny how sometimes I look at a picture of Connor and his face looks different to me...thinner...more mature...the shape seems to be changing...there's almost no little boy left in it....sigh...how did he get to be 11??  

This is definitely one of those pictures...you can see a teenage face just hiding in there...I am soooo NOT ready for that!

...+31...

Totally lazy day.  Sanford and I slept in.  He had to go into school for a few hours to work with the Science Olympiad kids on their Boomilevers and I cleaned the house.

It was beautiful outside so I read one of my library books in the backyard for a few hours.

The Boy Scout Troop was scheduled to stop at March Air Force Base on their drive home to look at the planes and take a tour.  They didn't roll in until 4:00.

Connor unloaded his giant bag and camelback and was immediately sent to the showers!  Hygiene is NOT a priority on Scouting events...

...+30...

One of the Assistant Scoutmasters that went on the trip was nice enough to snap a few pictures and email them home to us so we could see how the boys were doing...

Here's a picture of 7/10 boys that went.  There wasn't a lot of snow...but there was enough for several snowball fights...so Connor was pretty content.

Here's a picture of Connor with Nick O'Neil...not a terribly flattering picture of anyone...but you can tell they are having fun :)

Sanford wanted to go look at ski boots since they were having a special show at the Del Mar fairgrounds.

I do have to say...this is NOT his most fashion forward moment...YiKeS!!

We did leave with new ski boots and some new socks...so he was happy.

We decided to go somewhere a little nicer for dinner since Connor was away for the weekend...just somewhere outside of our usual rotation of 6 restaurants...

Here's a pic of Sanford's fillet...bacon wrapped...and he claimed it was very tasty...

Unfortunately...we won't be going back to this establishment any time soon because my bad restaurant karma kicked in here in overdrive...

-We had a ReaLLy slow waiter...ok...no kid so..not that big a deal...

-The lady next to me had to send her wine back because there was lipstick on the glass when it was delivered...kinda gross...but not a deal breaker...

-But I picked up a bite of my salad on the fork and stopped mid-air...then the following conversation took place...

me...What does this look like to you? (holding up bite to show Sanford)

S...a raisin?

me...are you kidding?!?!?  Raisins DON'T HAVE WINGS!!!!  (not yelling but definitely stressing the point that the thing on my fork had ~one ~1 ~UNO ~ wing...

S...OK...it looks like a bee...take a picture with your phone with the flash on and you'll be able to see better...

me...(snap pic)...oh...you can totally see the black and yellow stripes...yup...it's a bee...

S...well at least bees are clean bugs...

me...(disdainful look)

S...it's not like it's a roach or something...

me...ReaLLy?!?!?!  you want the fillet that bad???

S...yup...just order another cocktail...you'll feel better...(not even remotely apologetic)

me...hey...do you think I ate the other wing???

S...does that bother you because it's a bug or you're a vegetarian...bwahahahahahahahahaha....



ArrRRrRRrrrrrrrrRRRRrrG!!  This kind of attitude is why people kill their spouses...just sayin.

...+29...

There was no school on Friday, so the Boy Scouts left early for their Klondike Camp out.

This is a trip where they sleep in cabins and pray for snow.  The different Troops compete for ribbons in a bunch of silly races and activities.

Here is the Connor getting dropped off at the church...

After Sanford snapped this picture Connor told him to take another one because he didn't have time to smile...

WHAT?!!?!?!?!  OK...not sure WHO this kid was...but Sanford happily clicked another photo...

ahhhh....MuCH better! :)

...+28...

Here's a snap of Connor receiving his MaJOR award :)

He also brought home his previous book report diorama which earned an A+  :)

It was based on the book Peter and the Secret of Rundoon...very sparkly in person.  We found a cool nighttime ocean picture on the Internet and just had a photo of it printed at Costco.  We cut it up and used it as the background...$3 and it turned out AwESoME!  Love technology!

...+27....

Connor came home on Wednesday with this note...

How AwEsOMe is that?!?!?

Sanford is friends with the ASB director at the middle school and he asked her to snap a picture of Connor collecting his prizes :)


I am so proud of my boy.  It's great when he brings home a good grade ona test or a nice report card...but to have a teacher notice that he's caring...in MiDdLe school?!?  That makes me think we must be doing something right as parents.

...+26...

A few years ago Sanford bought me a nicer point and shoot camera when I complained about not being able to take good close up pictures with my old one.

That year when we went to look at Christmas lights, I went to put it in what I thought was my jacket pocket and was in reality the jacket's belt...the camera crashed to the sidewalk and the lens would no longer extend and retract smoothly and the camera wouldn't focus.

I put it in a basket and forgot about it.  While cleaning throughout the year, I threw away the camera's charger and USB cable because the camera didn't work.

Last week while cleaning out our armoire (a task LOOOOOONG overdue) I found the camera.  On a whim I turned it on and the lens slid right out...and back...and out...the camera had magically fixed itself :)

Of course...the battery was almost dead, I had no cable to unload the pictures that were on it, and no charger to juice up the battery...

...thank you Amazon.... $25 and 6 days later...it's like I have a new camera...

This was on the camera...seriously...such a better picture than what I can take with the Sony...and the boy is so adorable!  He looks like such a baby when I look at the picture now...but I distinctly remember looking at this picture and thinking that he looked so grown up!  Five years sure FLEW by!

Now if I could just get motivated to take the really good camera in to the shop...apparently it's not a healthy environment for cameras in our house :/

...+25...

Our toilet has been leaking and Sanford went to Home Depot to get the stuff to fix it.

I went to the grocery store and by the time I got home...it was all done.   

 Boo! 

 My husband doing manual labor?!? 

 In what I'm guessing was an unflattering position?!? 

Involving a toilet?!? 

And I missed it?!?! 

That would have been a completely Blog-able event :)

This is how he looked at me when I mentioned those facts...

Guess I'd better not push it if I ever want him to play blue collar again...

When I realized that I hadn't taken any pictures for the day, I went a snapped a photo of what each boy was doing right then...

Sanford was sitting in bed playing on the computer and watching TV (and looking annoyed at me)

Connor was freshly bathed, in his jammies, and reading on his Kindle

...and Mack was laying in the hallway.  He hates when everyone is in a different room because he doesn't know where to go so he ends up laying in the hallway so that he can hear all of us.  Silly kitty!

...+24...

We spent Sunday mainly doing chores and projects that should have gotten done on Saturday :)

Connor has a book report due on Tuesday.  Each book report consists of a 2 minute speech that needs to be written and memorized and a poster or diorama....we always choose the diorama.

Connor built all the Lego pieces for this on Friday night and I helped him with the rest on Sunday.

It's a classroom scene from the book.  Check out the wood floor Connor put in :) ...gotta love popsicle sticks!!

My two favorite things are the clock...it just slays me...and the Lego minifig's Marine dress hat.  We scaled it down and printed it out on photo paper and then cut it out and snot dotted it to his head...It looks AwESoMe in person!

After the diorama was done, the boys went out to work on the trains for a while.  They didn't last to long though...it was CoLD in the garage...highs all week have been in the 50's! YiKeS!!

Sanford gave me a hard time saying I was taking pictures while it looked like a mess...I laughed.  The mess on the train table is NOTHING compared to the disaster that our garage is.  Funny how you don't notice how bad things really are until you see a photo...

Connor opened up all the fun new cars he got for Christmas from Uncle Justin and Aunt Kristine...and they ran the little Railroad Police car Sanford bought Connor for the first time.  It is the cutest little scale car that runs on the tracks...it cracked me up!

I was impressed that Sanford put the trains back up Sunday night and parked both cars back in the garage.  I think it might have had something to do with not wanting to get into a car that had ice on the windshield in the morning...but I was grateful any way :)