...+23...

slacker...didn't post on Sunday...so the dates for Saturday's post are off.

It's funny that it's harder to get tit done on the weekend than during the weekend...I should have more free time on the weekends...maybe it's just that the computer is constantly in use conquering the world and/or watching YouTube videos about how to conquer the world :)

...Sanford is completely over the daily picture taking thing...    :)

Little League tryouts were Saturday morning.

The boys had to shag pop ups in the outfield and throw to second base,  field grounders at shortstop and throw to first and got 5 pitches from the machine to swing at...

Connor caught 5/6 balls and hit every pitch...

The boys were so cute sitting on the bench waiting to bat.  

After baseball, we came home and I started baking cupcakes to take over to the Hodges.  We were invited over for dinner and a board game.

The hostess requested chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting.  I had made them once before when we went over and Laura really liked them :)

I melted a cup of chocolate chips and a cup of peanut butter chips with just a little vegetable oil and dipped half of the cupcakes to make hi-hats...I thought the kids would really like those...They reminded me of Dairy Queen dipped cones.

We had tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner...the sandwiches were DeLiSH!!!  Thick sliced whole grain bread, spread with pesto and topped with mozzarella and tomatoes,  coated in olive oil...YuM!!!

Best GriLLeD CHeEsE EvER!!

There were some issues with he other folks that were supposed to come, so Laura and I chatted while Sanford and Tom watched the football game and the kids ran wild upstairs :)

After football was over, we played

I thought for sure Sanford would RoCK at this game!  He is a total con artist and liar!  He yanks me, Connor, the ASB kids...anyone he can.  He has NO shame!!  So I was pleasantly surprised that he got his clock cleaned and came in DEAD last...by a LOT!!!!  Of course it could have something to do with his smart aleck answers...example...we were given a name and had to write the reason the person was famous...

Sanford's answer...

Harry Woods

Beat his wife to death for making him play stupid board games.

Yah...no real question why he lost!! :)

...+22...

Slow news day ;)


Lucy is having a winter themed dinner party so I made some napkins rings for her...

...snowflakes for the adults...

...snowmen for the kids...

Got this photo in an email today... this is the only picture we have of us at Christmas dinner...

ReaLLy?!?!!?  I'm not sure what the goofballs are doing...besides messing up my picture...I guess this is just more proof that you can't take the two of them anywhere nice...sigh...

...+21...

It was rainy again today...lame...

Connor brought home his This I Believe English assignment.

It was due before the break and is the biggest writing assignment of the year.  It was double weighted.  I was a little stressed waiting to see what the result would be since I worked really hard to be HANDS OFF on the writing part...I may or may not have helped with the cover :)

The boy did awesome!  I was really proud of him because he struggles with writing.  He has trouble coming up with topics, miserable penmanship, and generally despises it.  Mr. Frost gave lots of time in class to work on the assignment and Connor did a great job getting things done.  All we had to do at home was a little bit of checking and typing stuff up.  YaY!

The rain stopped this afternoon and the boys went out and played catch and Connor practiced his pitching...but I wasn't smart enough to get a picture of that.

Little League tryouts are on Saturday.  So soon we'll be back to being overscheduled...sigh...I do love going to the games though.  Sitting in a lawn chair along the first base line, cheering on the boys, sun shining, grass greening, birds chirping, snack bar sunflower seeds everywhere...it's so suburban...it's exactly what I thought being a parent would be like :)

...+20...

I've realized that I'm struggling with tense on this blog...I'm posting the pictures of the day...but I'm blogging about it the following day...I keep switching back and forth between today's and yesterday's and I'm not sure either of them accurately correspond with the date the blog entry was posted on...I think about it every time I enter and it's making me crazy-ER :)

So...I'm making the executive decision to blog each post as what happened yesterday...in past tense.  The numbers and the pictures will match and since I'm blogging it as yesterday, then the date and the writing will match up as well.  I must have either NO life or some serious OCD hangups to be losing sleep over goofy stuff like that!!

Yesterday...I completed crocheting another scarf...

This one was really hard for me because the yarn was bumpy and irregular and so thick that it was impossible to actually SEE where your next stitch was supposed to go...I had to do it by feel and accurate counting...This is HUGE for me.  I've bought pretty yarn several times and given up and pitched the whole mess because I couldn't get it...so while it's the simplest pattern and the simplest stitch...it's also completed and even...Woo-Hoo! :)

The library stack is coming along nicely.  I'm hoping to make a trip back there on Saturday since a few of the books that I placed on hold have come in and I have a big pile to take back. 

Books on the left need to be read...books on the right are done.

The Carl Hiaasen book was HYSTERICAL...but they always are!  One of the main characters is a Brittany/Lindsey Lohan hot mess type...loved it!

The Ken Follett book was totally NOT what I expected...I read Pillars of the Earth and World Without End and was expecting something historical fictiony (is that a word?!?)  But it's not that at all!  It's drama/suspense set in a modern day Scotland.  The plot centers around a pharmaceutical lab that's developing an anti-virus drug and the lab's owner.  I had to put it down and walk away a few times because I'm such a wimp and the suspense was stressing me out :)  There's a dysfunctional family twist and a little romance  thrown in as well.  I would totally recommend it if you like that kind of sneaky/bad guy/good guy/espionage type stuff.

Here are the goofballs tonight.

Connor all clean from his bath snuggling with Sanford.  It's not nearly as sweet a scene as it looks like.  Connor has been forbidden to have any screen on weekdays.  He's actually just sucking up here to get to watch some TV...tricky .

They were cute together though :)

...+19...

I know it's purely Southern California whining...but it's been COLD lately...

Especially at night...there have been frost warnings all week.

I'm sure to people who live in Minnesota, 32 degrees is shorts and tank top weather...but I have thin native San Diegan blood...(read as...I'm a WIMP)

So, I made Potato Cheese soup for dinner to try to warm up :)

The boys were home late because of Science Olympiad practice, so dinner was ready when they got home...

...complete with bacon for them to sprinkle on top....

...and Connor's favorite...crescent rolls...

It was not a hit.  Sanford is still sick and has next to no appetite and Connor hates potatoes.  He usually tolerates this soup pretty well since he can cover it in bacon...but he wasn't feeling it today.  

It was definitely one of those meals that left me wondering WHY I cooked...

The two ~gourmets~ that I live with would have been just as happy or even happier with a grilled cheese sandwich and a can of Cambell's...especially if the sandwich was made with imitation processed cheese food slices...sigh...are taste buds genetic?!?!?! Because Connor definitely has Sanford's !!

Tuesday night is Boy Scout Meeting night...

There was a Committee meeting tonight so I was in a different room, but I snuck over to get a picture.  The first time I went over, the boys were all running wild and as amusing as it was, I couldn't get a picture because everyone was going so fast all the pics would have been out of focus.  It cracks me up how the older boys at first just tolerate the younger ones and then they get sucked into the goofy games and antics too :)

I love that Connor is in Scouts.  All of the boys and parents in the Troop are incredibly nice and helpful.  He has minimal interest in advancing or earning Merit Badges, but he loves hanging out and going camping.  He always comes home from a camp out tired, filthy, and happy...all the things an 11 year old boy should be!

...+18...

I hate winter....it's just not supposed to look like this outside after you've been up for an HOUR!!

The boys went back to school yesterday :)

Connor had homework in every subject :(

I added the Fannie Flagg book to the done pile yesterday.  I love the way she writes.  It's like talking to your favorite southern aunt...if you had one.  She tells a good story.  

I'm already half-way done with my library pile...the trouble with reading is that little else gets done...the house is starting to look a little tattered around the edges after 3 days of library gorging...I did get 5 loads of laundry done and Connor's sheets washed and bed remade yesterday...but I think I need a literary hiatus today to try to catch up on what's falling down...

I decided that on Monday posts I would list our planned dinner menus for the week.

I would love to see that from when I was a kid...it certainly felt like we had something I HATED every night!

Sunday..........Baked breaded chicken, Au Gratin potatoes, steamed broccoli

Monday........Mandarin Orange Chicken, Vegetable Fried Rice, grapes

Tuesday.......Potato Cheese Soup (with extra bacon for Connor), biscuits

Wednesday...Chicken Parm, salad, garlic bread

Thursday....Enchiladas, rice, beans

Friday......soup and grilled cheese sandwiches

Saturday....out/pizza...I rarely cook on Saturday's...It's supposed to be the one night of the week when Sanford takes care of dinner...so we almost always go out :)

...+17...

   

It was cold and Connor asked for these for breakfast...

I think I bought them because they were on sale and I had a coupon and they ended up being like 59cents...

...so I figured...whatevs...

I didn't think they looked all that appetizing, so I skipped them...Connor ate 4...but said they were just "ok" :)  

I wonder how many he would have scarfed down if they'd been good?!?!

Sanford got his served in bed with a glass of juice since he's still not feeling well.

At 3:00, Sanford had to go to work to help the ASB set up for a special dance promotion thing they were doing on Monday morning.  Connor wanted to go with him...probably because I kicked him off the screen since his eyes were bugged out and his attitude was foul.

Of course as soon as they left, it started raining...I didn't notice because it was just a sprinkle and I was reading.

I did get a little chilly so I went to make a cup of coffee and noticed that not only was the trash can FULL, someone had piled trash on top of it and started just setting trash on the kitchen counter next to it...ReaLLy?!?!

So...I took the trash out...cursing someone's name the ENTIRE time.

As I was going back in for the second load, my neighbor from across the street called me over to show me this...

 

...WoW...

How cool is that!?!! 

A RAINBOW that went right over our house

I guess it's supposed to be some kind of message from above telling me to be grateful and showing how I would have missed out if it hadn't been for doing someone else's chores...I should be all touchy-feely and glad to have taken out the trash...it's a real shame I'm shallow and nasty and got none of the true moral...

all I got was cold, wet feet

Other than feeding the 3 animals yesterday (one 4-legged & 2 of the 2-legged variety) all I did was read.

It was a lovely way to spend a wet Sunday. 

Here's my stack as of Sunday night.

Books on the left still need to be read.

Books on the right are finished.

I read all of Molokai and  The Girl With The Pearl Earring and most of The Birth of Venus just on Sunday :)

I would recommend all of them....4 stars...good stories...all historical fiction...all book club worthy.

That bottom one on the pile...YiKeS!! What a HoT mess!!

With a title like

The Cursing Mommy's Book of Days

I was thinking it had to be hysterical...NOT.

ok...honestly I was thinking that perhaps it was actually written about me :)

NoPE

To tell the truth...I was tempted to crop it out of the picture because I'm embarrassed I even read it.

-2 stars...please note the (-) NEGATIVE in front of the 2

Luckily...that was the first book I read and the others totally washed it out of my mind :)

I'm definitely hoping the rest of the book are NoTHinG like that one!!