My Beautiful Baby Girl

I have pictures from Conor's Birthday party to post, but I couldn't wait to share these pictures of my beautiful daughter.  I just got her senior pictures back and along with the pictures I got them on a CD so I could share them here and on Facebook.  Here first, of course.  :)  The last 3 are of her and Jon - her boyfriend. There were over 70 to choose from, these are just my favorites... they are in no particular order, just the order they uploaded from the file names. 

 

 

She has grown up so fast, I can hardly believe she is almost done with high school. 

North Pole Musical 2010

This year Conor had a speaking part in the school's production of North Pole Musical.
The Snow People, the Reindeer, the Elves, and the Toys, were all vying for a spot in the upcoming musical production. Santa had given the impossible task of finding a suitable act for the show in a short time to Mrs. Clause; and it was her job to listen to the auditions.
There was, of course, much drama in trying to get Mrs. Clause's attention and the Elves even went on strike! The kids did a great job and got a standing ovation at the end.

Conor's bit was to introduce the "Nutcracker Megamix" portion of the show. We thought it would be a good idea to dress him up in a Nutcracker soldier outfit. My mother is an excellent seamstress, so we enlisted her skills to help make the costume. She did a terrific job of transforming sweat pants and an oversized shirt into an officer's uniform. I had fun at the local Walmart at 2 o'clock in the morning trying to get fabric cut while the employees were busy stocking shelves. I wonder what they thought of me coming in at that hour wanting to buy a yard of faux fur, shiny medalion trim, and curtain tie back cords?

Conor's 8th Birthday

http://www.funattheweb.com/

We took Conor and 5 of his friends to The Web for his birthday.  The plan was for us to go there as soon as it opened (11am) and then come home for pizza, cake, and ice cream.  For the most part, the plan worked out. 

The Web has arcade games, bowling, golf, race cars, and of course laser tag.  We did not have any clue what to expect, really.  When we got there, we had to sign up for a time for the laser tag.  Up to 40 people could go at once, so they would be in there with other groups. 









They have credit card like cards for the arcade part - charge it up and slide it through a reader on the game you want to play.  There wasn't a lot of time before the laser tag appointment - so the boys just ran around looking at all the things to do.  Then it was time for laser tag - I was the only one who didn't go, I wanted to try to take pictures but the viewing window is so dark that you can not.  Jeff, Ceara, Conor, Mason, Gage, Grant, Trey, and Shane all went into an instructional room to learn how to play it.  They were all given vests and guns.  There were two teams - Red and Blue and our group was all on the same team.  There are obstacles in the room, and it's dark, and they have glow in the dark stuff.  They say don't run, but I did see a few people running.  The teams are released from different doors and you go around looking for them to shoot.  There is a sheet at the end that has your tag name (everyone is assigned a name based on what vest/gun they got) and it has all the stats.  How many people you shot, how many times you were shot...etc.  Our team won over all. 

After the laser tag, we went to play miniature golf - it was that or bowling and the boys all chose golf. 

The theme was Jurassic Park and it was dark with glow in the dark painted / carpeted golf things (yeah, I don't know what they are called). 

That part of the day was a little hectic and I wish they would have chosen bowling.  They did not take turns, they ran around the room hitting the balls as hard as they could and no scores were kept. 

It was a good thing no one else was there at the same time! 

They finished quickly and moved onto the arcade games. 

Mason got lucky right off the bat and hit a wheel of fortune game for a lot of tickets.  All the other kids were jealous and tried to play the same game to get as many as he did. 

They easily went through their arcade credits, and we even bought extra so they could continue the fun for a little bit. 

Then it was time to cash in.  I have a lot of respect for the patience of the employees who work in this area - they changed their minds so many times, wanting to see this or that, then wanting something else. 

It got so bad that Grant had to be handcuffed and almost hauled away! 

Mason was able to sneak some keys and set him free - thank God for big brothers!  Oh, wait... those were Mason's cuffs and he was the one who put them on Grant.  :)

That poor little girl in the picture had to wait her turn behind 6 boys who weren't about to give up their turn in line for a girl!  Nothing stands between boys and their toys at that age. 

We came back to our house, stopping to get pizza on the way.  The boys ate pizza while we frantically searched for candles.  I knew I had them, just not where they were... I eventually sent Alli to get some at the store. 

Conor blew out his candles, with Gage standing by ready if he needed assistance! 

He opened his gifts from the kids while we all had cake and ice cream. 

He got a remote control car.

And the ever favorite money!

As well as a robe that he had been begging for since he saw it. 

After we managed to get rid of all of the kids (it was harder than you might think!), we took Conor to his restaurant of choice (Golden Corral - yes, it is his favorite) and had his grand parents go there with us to celebrate his birthday. 

He had a few more gifts to open there. 

Barb made him a cute little box with a cutout of him in his Nutcracker uniform. 

One of his favorite gifts inside - money! 

And a bunch of little games that he was so interested in we had to remind him he had other gifts. 

He got an electric snap kit so that he can learn how to make different things - sirens, radios, etc. 

He was very interested in seeing all the things he could do. 

There are a lot of projects in that book - different levels of difficulty. 

And then he got what he has wanted for a very long time.  See his face?  He was so surprised. 

Yes, we got him a cell phone. 

Before you judge, let me explain!  The idea of an 8 year old with a cell phone is not a great idea, I know, I didn't warm to the idea immediately.  BUT!  We do not have a home phone.  And this phone is to act as a home phone - adding it to our plan for $10/ month is a lot cheaper than getting a land line.  As I am writing this post on Jan 15th and back dating it - I can tell you it does act as a home phone.  He is not allowed to leave the house with it, even if he is just going to Mimi's house to spend the night.  Or if he is riding to the store with his dad.  It does not leave this house.  It enables him to have a way to call his friends, or text his dad when he's in the man cave, or text me while I'm at work to tell on his sister for doing something after he gets off the bus.  He keeps all of his friends numbers in it and calls them from it.  He is able to text and keep in touch with his aunt Naomi - whom he adores, but she lives in Indiana so he doesn't get to see her very often.  It encourages him to spell and read when he texts.  Quite honestly, he doesn't even use it that much, the novelty has worn off.  And when I text him, I make sure to spell out all words so that he reads them and learns more words.  So, it really is like a home phone, just has texting capabilities with it.  :) 

Got Milk?

It would sure go good with all these cookies!  :)  Conor's birthday is Saturday so I made some cookies for him to take to school to share with his classmates on Friday.  Chocolate Chip Cookies with icing, sugar sprinkles, and a sugar decoration.  I'm sure the teacher will wait until the end of the day so that the kids go home to bounce off the walls. 

I made two trays full so that there would be plenty to share with his classmates as well as other teachers.

This is a first for me - each item has to be individually wrapped, so I had to go out and get some Ziploc bags to put them in.  That wasn't required last year, or if it was no one told me about it.  It actually makes it a bit easier to transport because if they are not in the bags I'd have to put them in Tupperware and not stack them for fear of messing them up. 

Tomorrow I will be working on the cake for his birthday party on Saturday.  LASER TAG!!!  Woot, should be fun.  I'll try to get some good pictures and videos of it.  I've never been so I'm not sure how it works.  :)

HAPPY FRIDAY!  Happy day-before-Conor-turns-8! 

Public Service Test: Does chocolate milk aid in cleaning?

I had a thought this morning - "Could chocolate milk be used as a cleaner?"

So even though I had just gotten Jeff to agree to go do some Christmas shopping (!), I decided to test the thought and poured some chocolate milk on my kitchen floor.  A half a roll of paper towels later, I came to the conclusion that it does NOT.  Although, if I had bought the "quicker picker upper" maybe it wouldn't have taken so many.  Who needs to make things easier?  Certainly not me. 

Anyway, after getting the mop out and mopping the kitchen floor - including moving the stove because there was some under there, too - I decided that maybe it does aid in cleaning.  It made me clean the entire kitchen floor, plus under the stove, when I really hadn't planned on doing that today. 

So, in conclusion - if you really weren't planning on mopping your floor and moving appliances around to get under them as well, just pour an entire glass of chocolate milk on the floor.  It helps motivate you, even if it doesn't aid in the actual cleaning. 

Now I have to hurry and get ready to go shopping before Jeff changes his mind!

How do things get in my head?

As I was getting ready to take a shower last night, I realized I had the Gilligan's Island theme song running in my head... and I had not looked at anything that reminded me of it, or heard anything about it.  I have no clue how it got there, but I couldn't make it stop!  So what could have possibly triggered it? 

Ever have that happen?  What goes on in YOUR head? 

Breakfast

Today, my guys made me breakfast... almost in bed, but not quite - their activities woke me up.  Conor served it to me - with a towel hung over his left arm and the plate (or whatever he was bringing me) he carried with his right hand.  First course was bacon, eggs, and toast.  Then he brought me a glass of orange juice.  Next, he brought me a bowl of homemade hash browns.  Still with the towel over his arm.  He went back to the kitchen saying, "Pancakes are coming, ma'am."  He referred to me as "ma'am" the whole time, like he was my waiter.

"I can't eat pancakes too!  It's too much!" I protested.

"Too bad!" was the reply from the kitchen.  (Jeff)

So, Conor was back in just a couple of minutes with a pancake.  I did my best, but couldn't finish it all.  My usual breakfast is coffee... and that's it, so it was a bit of a shock to my system.  It was all WONDERFUL, though. 

Now, I have that "full" feeling and the sudden urge to go back to bed!  Thanks, guys!  What a great start to the day. 

Audiocave

I have been trying to help Ceara like books more. She is supposed to read a certain amount for school and she doesn't enjoy reading as much as she should for a teenager. In an effort to help her, I have both the book and the audio for Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes. She has been enjoying this book with me out in the mancave on weekend when we can hang out.

Recently, I just got a nice little space heater for the mancave for these chilly November days. It was hard to get Ceara to come out here because she hates to be cold. I thought with the extra incentive of heat - I could get her to come out to listen to more about Frankie. We couldn't just leave him in the middle of the Atlantic on his way to Ireland! Anyway, as it turns out, maybe the mancave is a little too cozy. Well have to learn more about the McCourt's adventures after a little nap.

Halloween Weekend

The soccer tournament was last Saturday (Oct 30th), and Conor's team lost the first game so there were no more after that.  The game itself was hardly a tournament by any standards.  Not that I didn't enjoy cheering for my son, and watching his team try so hard - I did and they did.  However, if they are going to have tournaments and go through the motion, they could at least supply referees who know a little bit more about the game than the 6 and 7 year olds playing.  A little consistency would be nice.  I won't go off on a rant, although I really could, but two things stick out for me.  First - the opposing team got the kick off at the start of the game and also at the start of the second quarter.  I specifically noticed this because when they kicked off at the start of the game I commented on how well they handled the ball.  When they lined up for the second quarter and kicked off again, I questioned whether anyone was paying attention.  Second - in soccer, you are supposed to switch sides for every quarter, which has irked me the entire season that our particular league does not enforce it.  Anyway, at the tournaments, they initially started out switching sides.  First and second quarter were played on the correct sides of the field, however the third and forth they did not switch and the refs did nothing.  They barely watched the game from what I saw. 

I did not make a scene, I didn't expect much from the tournament and I got what I expected.  Anyway, soccer season is now over.  Conor's team did an excellent job and did not lose any games all season.  They did tie one, but the others they won. 

Trick or treat was Saturday night in our parts, and since we moved to the middle of nowhere where no one trick or treats, I made arrangements to go to a friend's house. Conor was a Knight of sorts.  He used the sword, shield, and helmet we bought him at the Renaissance Festival along with a Knight shirt from a costume in a bag we got him.  I had originally thought I would make something, but time is passing so quickly and it all snuck up on me, so we went to the store THAT DAY and found one costume that would do the job.  Unfortunately, it was not his size, but I was able to do a little creative ripping to make it look just fine. 

What's that?  You'd like to see a picture?  Yeah, me too.  I didn't take any, though.  I think Jeff may have taken one on his phone, so we'll have to check on that later. 

Amanda lives in a cul-de-sac and had set up a table with chairs in the road and had a fire pit set up behind it.  The neighbors all came out as well and we had several candy giving people all right there for the kids go trick or treat.  The men took the kids house to house, while the women stayed behind to pass out candy.  Amanda had made White Chicken Chili (sooooo good!) to share with everyone, and various people brought sides and desserts.  I made Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars with Streusel Topping and cut them into bite size servings.  They were a huge hit. 

After trick or treat was over, the kids went in the house and watched movies and played Rock Band on their game console, while the adults gathered around the fire to talk.  As the fire died down, we move into the house where we found the kids with their candy dumped out on the couch and several empty wrappers.  We left around 10 and Conor complained of a stomach ache on the way home.  So of course I blamed the candy - "That's what happens when you eat too much candy..." - which, really, he hadn't.  His empty wrappers equated to that of a regular sized candy bar, so I hadn't been too upset with him.  However, I did think that maybe the sugar was to blame for his stomach problems. 

He was on the couch and feeling queasy when we got home, so I put a trash can there - just in case.  And boy was it ever needed - but the aim didn't work out and it wasn't used.  So, after round 1 clean-up involving shampooing my carpet at midnight on a Saturday night, I put down towels around the trashcan.  Those would have helped had he been able to even move for round 2 - he was asleep and woke up vomiting on the couch / blanket / pillow.  Leather couch, so at least it was something I could wipe off rather than have to shampoo it out.  Everything cleaned up, laundry started, exhausted, I went to bed around 2am.  He is a little boy, his stomach had to be empty by now, right?  Wishful thinking.  I was woken at 3:30am by Conor who had climbed into my bed to tell me he had other problems - the other end kind of problem - and he ended his sentence with vomiting on my bed.  I jumped up and said "GET TO THE BATHROOM!" and he was on his way... leaving a trail of vomit on the floor as well.  So, I stripped the bed - it did not soak through to the mattress, thank goodness - and got the carpet shampooer back out.  Jeff was in his Man Cave and I texted him and said something to the effect of "GET IN HERE NOW!"

Hey, if he's going to stay up all night, he can do it in the house to keep an eye on Conor.  We cleaned everything up, started another load in the laundry, and I went back to bed and left Conor and Jeff watching a movie in the living room.  I don't remember what time I got up, but I spent Sunday doing laundry and cleaning the majority of the day while Conor slept.  Jeff and I both ended up catching the same bug later in the week - but he was in Atlanta when his hit.  Not a pleasant experience!

So, that was our Halloween weekend.  How was yours?