Thursday, March 21, 2013

...+89...


It may be liquid poison and slowly turning my innards to leather...but I just don't care...it's a great tasting way to go!

One of my day care moms had an appointment yesterday and didn't drop off until 10:00...God LoVE her...she came in carrying this for me!



Whoever said you can't buy happiness was a fool!  I can get 42 oz of happiness for just $1.08.

I, and every other Diet Coke addict that I know, swears that the Diet Coke at McDonald's is the best on Earth...it has the perfect syrup to water ratio, just the right amount of carbonation, and it's crazy cheap...I'd pay at least 3x as much for it gladly...but don't tell Ronald McDonald that OK??

...+88...

Another reason to LoVE Sanford's job...





Mr. Magno visited 6th grade camp on Tuesday to check things out in his official capacity.

In his unofficial capacity as Sanford's friend, he texted us an update picture of the boy...LoVE it!

Of course, right after I registered that the boy looked happy and like he was having fun, I noticed that he was wearing the same clothes he had on from Monday...heaven help whoever is sleeping in the same cabin as him because he is going to be RiPE by Friday!!! :)

...+87...

Sanford had Pep Rallies on Monday, so I opened late so that I could take Connor to school to drop him off for camp.


We got there early, but there were already a ton of kids and their stuff in the gym.

I ran into Mr. Magno, Connor's principal...who up until this school year worked with Sanford at MCHS, his son is a 6th grader too and we discussed how much fun the boys were going to have at camp...and how nice it was going to be to have a week without homework :)



Travis Ford walked in a few minutes later and he and Connor were happy as clams.  Since Travis' mom didn't even come in, I figured I was cleared to go...especially since the boy completely forgot I was there :)

A few hugs and kisses and I was off to work and he was independent for the week!




The BMMS ASB advisor popped onto the bus and took this picture as the kids were headed to camp...she texted it to Sanford...sometimes, I LoVE his job! :)

...+86...

...Crazy boys...

...6th grade camp on the horizon...

...SpriNG BreaK the week after...

...LooKinG at 2 solid weeks with no homework...

...5:30 on a Sunday evening...

...PeRFeCT time for a water fight...

Sanford was at work setting up for the Black Light PeP Rally and I let Connor pick anything he wanted for dinner...he chose iHoP...no surprise there...when we got home the boys were out playing and the next thing I knew I was being asked to glue gun an empty water bottle to the top of a broken squirt gun to improvise new artillery...the gun was already hot...so I went with it...I went out a few minutes later to see what was going on and found this...




Kids with balloons, kids with guns, one with my hose, and Connor using a Rubbermaid lid as a RioT ShieLD...I guess if you're a middle school boy, this is FuN :)

...+85...

Connor didn't go to baseball on Saturday and instead went to a Merit Badge day in Claremont.

He took First Aid which is an Eagle Scout badge...it was also an all day event...he went grumbling that it was going to be lame...but ended up having a great time.

He instagramed a picture of a pen sticking out of his leg that was "treated" with some of the First Aid goodies from class...freaked out his friends...suuuuuch a Carvajal!!!



We went over to Grammi and Granddad's for dinner...Sanford's favorite...steak and spa night.



Connor managed to take Granddad for $25...$5 for pulling some weeds and then when he heard camp was next week he pulled out his wallet again and handed Connor a $20...I told him the kids weren't allowed to bring money to camp...there isn't a store any more like there was when he went to camp...Ricky just shrugged, winked at Connor, and told him to keep it any way...That's what Granddads are best at...sneaking you treats and handing you cash...  :)

...+84...

Connor goes to 6th grade camp next week.

The school sent out an email on Thursday giving an address to send mail to at camp.  They suggested that you mail your letters before the kids even left to make sure that the mail would get there in time.



I made this for Connor and put it in the mail on Friday.  Hopefully it'll make him laugh :)


...+83...

...Thursday...

...3*14...

...National Pi Day...

I chose to make it National PiE Day :)




It's the best kind of holiday...no expectations, pleasantly surprised, and dessert...can't ask for more than that!

Thursday, March 14, 2013

...+82...

Wednesdays are not special.

They are boring and ordinary and don't know if they are the beginning of the week or the ending...they need some help.

Enter...

(this is where in a movie you would key up rainbows, and unicorns, and angels singing...just sayin')




Yup...I know that picture is so big it cuts into the side bar and looks awkward...but these babies deserve the 
X-LARGE shot!!

SeRiouSLy!!! 
These are THAT good.  
They honestly deserve more than a Wednesday.  
They deserve their own holiday....and everyone should have the day off...with pay...and cupcakes...THESE cupcakes...better than Sprinkles, better than Champagne bakery, better than ANY bakery cupcakes I've EVER had... truthfully...better than ANY cupcake I've EVER made! (I thought about not blogging them because now when you see them at Trader Joe's you're going to buy them and there's a chance you will buy the package that I wanted and I won't get any...but in the interest of taste buds everywhere, I'm being InCReDIbLY altruistic sharing this)

The cake is soooo moist!  The ganache is DeCaDeNT...just like the box promises...creamy and rich.  The peanut butter is the PeRFeCT touch.
I don't have to bake, there's no dishes and they are like $4.99 a box...HeLLo!!!!  $1.25 for heaven in a cupcake liner?!?!?!?
YeS PLeaSE!!!  :)




Just LooK at that...you hear it right? The angels singing?? It's not just me ????  ...sigh...any one else hungry??



Ok...and now for more obnoxiousness...

This was sitting on the kitchen counter this morning...



we are one of THOSE families...three...3...TreS...iphones...ReaLLy?!?!  The boy's is a hand-me-down...so it's not THAT bad...right???  YiKeS! :(


                                      


Here are our cases...a little glimpse into our personalities...I swear you can tell a lot about a person from their phone case.  Phone are totally generic but have become such a huge part of our lives...I may leave the house without makeup, and I might forget my sunglasses, but I'd feel completely NaKED without my phone...that's kinda sad.  Anyway...I'm convinced most people are attached to their phones the same way and use their cases to give their phone a little attitude...

Shiny metalic skull??  We all know who that belongs to...it just ScReaMS 11 year old BoY!!

Snow White holding the iconic apple...sweet, clever, kid-friendly...that's me :)

Matte, black, boring, and practical (it's a battery extender case)...Gee...kinda proves the point huh??

Anyway...there's my deep thought for the day :)






and now for just a little bit of reality...


our phone screens REALLY looked like this...but I wasn't going to record that mess...YuCK!...welllll...mine looks ok, and Connor's is in a good shadow so you can't see it...but Sanford's looks like it's been manhandled by an extra large container of french fries...YiKeS! :/  Besides...it's still cold and flu season...couldn't hurt to clean those babies up! :)  So in the interest of the integrity of the blog...I included this nasty shot. 

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

...+81...



Tuesday's game left Coach scratching his head...


The cardinals lost 10-1.  We gave up 13 walks and had 6 errors.  Not exactly a good outing.

Connor had 3 strike outs in the inning he pitched and his last hit brought in the only run we scored.  

But it was definitely a forgettable game all around.



They were all parked on the picnic table eating their snack looking depressed.  Hopefully next game will be better! :)

...+80...

Monday was Connor's field trip to UCSD.



Sanford went with him as a chaperone.  They had to take lunches in brown paper bags :)




Here's a picture of the Library...it's just gorgeous.

Connor said the highlight of the field trip for him was that the tour guide could make a sound just like a cricket.

Sanford said h thought 6th graders were too young to get any benefit from a college campus visit.

I'm pretty sure Connor's comment proves him right :/

...+79...

I picked up the CuTeST soap at Bath&Body Works.  I wrapped it up as an early St. Patty's Day prize for my neighbor.



Then I decided to put my new Filled-Pasta skills to the test and spent 2 hours making dinner


It always starts out seeming like a good idea until you've been  at it over an hour and your kitchen floor is covered in flour and every counter top has food and tools and goo all over it....



After all that...Connor cleaned his plate but wasn't overly impressed and Sanford told me dinner was good but certainly NOT 2 hours good...and I should have just taken a nap and opened a frozen bag of Bertolli since he and Connor can't tell the difference...sigh...ReaLLy?!?!??!

...+78...

It rained all night Friday, so Connor's game and the Opening Day ceremonies were cancelled.


Connor still had to do his chores though.

When he was all finished, he went over to Grammi and Grandad's to spend the night since this Saturday was
DaTe NighT :)

Sanford and I went to the movies and to dinner.

We went to see



We arrived 40 minutes before the movie was scheduled to start and the line to get in was already huuuuuuuge.



Poor Connor was all upset that we didn't take him...luckily, I loved the movie and will happily go see it again with him next weekend!




...gotta love the goofy iphone picture...


Sanford and I had dinner at



and then stopped at Barnes and Noble to pick up some cheesecake to take home for dessert...the restaurant only had desserts with ice cream...which just wouldn't have been appetizing by the time we got home :/
  

We stayed up watching Skyfall which I'd bought for Sanford a few weeks earlier but we hadn't gotten around to yet.  I made Sanford try to guess what the two movies we'd seen had in common...but he couldn't.  Daniel Craig is married to one of the Wicked witches in Oz  :)  

It was 1:00 before we got to bed...and with the time change...I StRuGgLeD to get up the next morning and go pick up Connor :/

...+77...


Baseball practice on Friday was rained out.



We all went to an evening appointment with Dr. Koumaris and then went out for dinner.



We were hoping the rain would stop so that the big opening day ceremonies scheduled for Saturday, as well as Connor's game, would happen.

Friday, March 8, 2013

...+76...

  DInner Thursday night was from my pasta class on Wednesday night...


Each one of those little tortellini was hand cut, filled and made by me.  It just about killed me when the boys didn't clean their plates and I had to throw some away...note to self...give MINIMAL pasta and make them ask for more rather that risk a jail term for murder...


The boys were standing in the kitchen and Sanford was talking about how tall Connor was getting...so I grabbed my camera to take a quick picture.



Connor couldn't be bothered to stop stuffing crackers into his mouth...I think he's trying to make them look like wheat thin fangs...ReaLLy?!?




This one is a little better...but Sanford is making that weird face that he always makes in pictures now.  He used to have the BEST picture face...an automatic grin, eyes always open...it was awesome..I was the one who messed up our pictures with some odd grimace or close mouthed smile.  But ever since football...his picture taking face is just wrong.  :(

They don't smile in football pictures...instead they look all serious and menacing...riiiiight....any way...some form of that has lingered and he no longer has the ability to smile naturally for the camera...sigh...figures...since I have recently embraced the fact that I should just go ahead and smile big and show the world my ridiculously large teeth instead of trying to hide them and look like I'm in some kind of pain...looking like a happy piranha is better than looking like I need a stool softener! :/  Perhaps someday we'll get it together and all look cute in a photo...

...+75...

Wednesday I took the second part of my filled pasta class...but this time I wasn't smart enough to take ANY pictures at all :(

I really have the best time at these classes and just LoVE the teacher.

I'm planning on taking a few more in the Spring semester...a bread class and a homemade cracker class.  I'm sure the  boys will appreciate those!


When I got home from class, I made this as a prize for Connor's Minecraft club advisor.




It could be my favorite 10 minute craft EvER!!




I always ask for a small cup when I buy a Starbucks gift card...it is such a cute and easy way to wrap the card.
This one was crazy fast because I just used a web site to generate the image, typed in my text, printed it out on sticker paper, trimmed it and was done...it was waaaaay closer to 5 minutes that 10 :)

You just have to appreciate a teacher that is willing to give up his lunch hour so that a bunch of middle schoolers can talk about a video game!  LoVE that Mr. Frost!! :)

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

...+74...


I just had to blog this picture since the boy is
1)  Smiling without making a goofy face
2)  Smiling while doing homework
3) Wearing his shirt inside out...put it back on that way after gym class...thank heavens it's last period!




Connor finished his homework early and asked to play a game...he chose


First he picked Stratego...but I don't know how to play so he settled for Battleship...


He beat me...but I'm not convinced that the Carvajal CHEATER gene didn't come into play...yet another thing he inherited from his father...




...+73...



Woo-Hoo!

I told you his public speaking genes came from his father!! :)


...+72...

For breakfast Sunday morning I tried a new pancake recipe...it has yellow cake mix in it...I was hoping it would taste like McDonald's pancakes since Connor loves those so much... it didn't...but they were still tasty .



We're calling them ~GaME BaLL~ pancakes...


They just looked to festive to be an ordinary breakfast and since Connor won the game ball the day before...it seemed like a good thing to CeLeBRatE :)




Connor and I spent a lot of time in the backyard on Sunday because it was just so beautiful again.  I was doing yard work and he was practicing his book report speech.

Our hummingbird decided to visit.



They are speedy little guys and we didn't get very good photos....but I swear this is the same hummingbird that has visited our house each spring for the last 3 or  4 years.  He stays for months and buzzes us whenever we are outside playing.

...+71...


It was an absolutely gorgeous day for our first game....blue sky, sun shining, 80 degrees...perfect baseball weather!




The only bummer was that Sanford was at  football clinic and missed the game...which turned out to be a VERY bad thing!



Connor played like a ToTaL STuD!!

His fielding was great...his catching was top notch...


He got on all 4 times he batted...2 walks and 2 SoLiD hits...one was a triple that probably could have been a home run...but we were up 12-0 at that point and coach held him up at 3rd.



He also got to pitch an inning...


He didn't give up any hits and struck out 3 guys!!

It was AMaZiNG!!!!

Coach recognized him with the game ball...total strangers were telling him good game as we left the field...the boy was FLYiNG!!!

The only down side was Sanford missed it...hopefully this week will be a repeat performance :)


...+70...

Friday was the last practice before the Cardinals first game of 2013 :)