The Stars Are Aligned

Well... at least this is what AJ said.  He is watching the weather like a hawk, we are expecting snow and we could get up to 12 inches in this storm.  Chris had to go buy a shovel last night.  Stay tuned for a white weekend in North Carolina.

Ginger in NC

We had a special visitor this week, Ginger came to see us from Colorado. We wanted to let Ellie know that Ginger is on her way home. She will need lots of rest because she was REALLY busy! Thanks for sharing her with us.

The Blue Ridge Mountains - Tree Envy

So we went to Boone last weekend and nearly EVERYONE had a tree strapped to the top of their car.  At the time the practical side of me was thinking needles on the ground and potential fire.  Today my emotional side is thinking how great that tree would smell!  We have the steady eddie artificial (see fake) tree, no fun.

This picture was taken from the Blue Ridge Parkway.  It was really pretty but we made a mental note to come back next year in the fall to see the trees change.

Fall in NC

AJ is offended that I am blogging that Fall is here, he believes that Fall is old news, has been here for awhile now. Tell that to the leaves, maybe they are procrastinators like AJ!

It is really getting pretty here, I love this time of year. It has been in the 70's but cold enough at night to change the trees. I hope it lasts and leaves do not all drop off too soon.

Scrappers Block

Connor is sick today, AJ hurt his hand and cannot play baseball so I finally have a day to catch up on my scrapping. Of course I am having a mental block! AJ pointed out the problem right away "Mom, aren't you supposed to scrap like right after it happens instead of 2 years later??" He gets the obvious gene from Chris.


Speaking of Chris, he let AJ drive the boat today, countdown to drivers ed which by the way starts in Dec. Eeeek!!!

So Long Summer!

First chance to blog since Labor Day, I cannot believe that summer is over!  We had a great time at the beach, the kids were in the water non-stop, even on day 2 when it was kind of rainy and overcast.  The water was really rough so I guess in body board land that is good. 

Everyone had a great time!

Who the heck is that girl hitting on my little precious?  She used her little brother to break the ice, smooth! Good thing Aunt Theresa was not there.

 

Wipe Out!

Self Defense 101

So today during lunch Connor was asking questions about if he had to defend himself against a "bad guy." AJ said that he and Connor should learn self defense like Taekwondo or Jit-Jitsu. Connor said enthusiastically "I know a Jit-Jitsu, Gidget!" to which I replied, "No Connor, Gidget is a Shih Tzu!" I wonder if Connor thinks that Gidget is associated with self-defense because of the time she bit him in the face, that was total self defense.

The Night That the Lights Went Out at Northern

So first JV game this week. I have never been a football mom so not sure what to expect. It was fun to watch though! The lights went out about an hour into the game and we had to wait 20 min or so for them to come back on. I thought we could all pull the pickup trucks onto the field and turn on the headlights but no luck, we actually had to wait for the lights. Have these people not seen Friday Night Lights or Varsity Blues, even All the Right Moves - you have to be willing to improvise!

AJ is # 85, Nighthawks won!

It's all about you Mags

We were outside today having a good time playing football and basketball and Connor let Mags out. After getting hit in the face (sorry Mags,it was an accident, I swear) she took a little break. I noticed that every time she stopped these black bugs were flying all around her legs and chest, ugh! I hope they were not fleas - anyway we decided pigpen needed a bath!

So now she can be my pretty girl again!
Getting ready for school to start, 10 more days!

Moving to the Beach!

Ok, not really but a girl can dream right? We had a great time in Wilmington last week. My vacation afterglow and my tan are fading already. I had a moment about 2 hours from home when I realized I forgot my camera! I was heartbroken at first but then determined where there is a will (and a Target) there is a way. Pictures below are from my new "smaller" camera - not as great as the big camera but also nice to not lug around the big camera when I do not need the close ups - or at least that is the line I was selling to Chris as we stood at the Target register.

We were there for 5 days and honestly I was a little nervous that we would run out of things to do. We spent the first 2 nights on the River in downtown Wilmington. So awesome to be on the river walk and see the downtown area. We took a ferry over to the Battleship North Carolina which was really cool to see.

The boys loved the battleship, apparently so do gators! We spotted a couple of them next to the boat. We also spotted a camera floating in the water next to the boat and I realized it is better to forget your camera than to drop it in the ocean!

Another highlight was the Home Run Derby hosted by the Wilmington Sharks - it was All Star Weekend and the Shark Tank was the place to be. This is small town summer ball at it's finest. Where else do you get to mingle with the players in the bleachers before the game? What a blast!



The clear winner for the week was body boarding. The boys had such a great time! We learned after day 1 when their chests were raw that the shirt was the way to go if you are going to spend the day on the board. I think they came out of the water for about 10 min all day. We were smart on day 2 and forced lunch which built in a break.




I think I am relaxing a little as I get older (I said a little Chris, stop laughing!) We had some drama on the water and I handled it pretty well. The boys were out on their boards and all the sudden Chris says, "I think I am going to help Connor out", not sure what he meant by that I watched him head towards Connor in the water. As you know, Chris is not one to rush so as he started moving with purpose towards the water I got a little nervous. The pace continues to pick up and out of the corner of my eye I see Mr. Baywatch the lifeguard running out into the water. I am thinking, "is he heading towards Connor" and at that moment I see Chris picking up the pace yet again. AJ was also out there and the three convene around Connor and start heading in. Poor kid got stuck in a little rip tide. We had just talked about that so Connor was not really scared, he thanked the lifeguard and after a break got right back in.
The old Maria would have been screaming from the beach "SAVE MY LITTLE PRECIOUS! " so you can see that all these years of being a boy Mommy have resulted in at least some level of resilience.



So is summer really coming to an end? I hope not! Football practice is back on for AJ and about to start for Connor. We are hoping to get at least one more weekend of fun in the sun before school starts. In the meantime I will continue to think of ways we can live at the beach and make enough money to live on!

Happy Fathers Day!

I wanted to be the first to wish the Dad's out there a Happy Fathers Day. There may be some debate over me being first since Liz posted her well wishes last Sunday. Of course since last Sunday was Flag Day and not Fathers Day I think I win.

So for Chris, Papa, Grandpa and all of the brothers, brother-in-laws and uncles out there have a great day!

"Good parents give their children Roots and Wings. Roots to know where home is, wings to fly away and exercise what's been taught them."-- Jonas Salk

The Second Most Expensive School Project This Year

So here it is, end of the year and Connor has a school project. He has been working on a paper about a squirrel (which Carrie Bradshaw once called a rat in a better outfit) and needed to build a habitat. I of course being of great ideas and creativity decided we could take an old 2 liter bottle and make it into a mini tree.

Step 1, cut a hole in the bottle for squirrely to look out, check.

Step 2, wrap the bottle in brown felt, check.

Step 3, glue pieces of mulch on the felt....this is where the trouble begins.

Realizing that Martha Stewart would recommend a glue gun for this project I plug her in and wait. Connor went out to the yard to get the best pieces of mulch gathered and we were ready to go. I am squeezing the glue onto the mulch and Connor is putting them on the bottle. We are going at a pretty good speed - as you know everything in my world is quick..quick..quick. I hand Connor a piece and step in to make it perfect (because we all know how important it is to have a fourth grade squirrel habitat be absolutely perfect) and the piece I just loaded up with glue pops off and lands glue side down on my wrist. I go to brush it off and it hits the thumb and ring finger on the way down. This is now a problem, in brushing it off my wrist all of the skin went with it. I instantly knew this was not something neosporin would solve. We all jumped in the car to go to the urgent care center and sure enough - 2nd degree burn. Who knew hot glue guns got that hot? I never heard Martha give that kind of warning. Like the lady who sued McDonalds for hot coffee I am wondering if I have a case against Martha - 2 counts. Count 1, the pressure to build perfect things in a 30 min time slot. Count 2, failure to warn that you should wear protective gear when working with the hot glue gun.

So total cost of this project - bottle, free - had it saved for just such an occasion. Mulch, free from the yard. Felt, $1.29 at Michaels. Urgent care, $77, prescription $8, dressing for the burn $22 - total $108.29

Sadly, this total is not even close to the most expensive project of the year. The Science Fair guitar, which while an amazing show of workmanship, was lacking the actual science to place in the science fair - this one totaled $200 but did return 100 points extra credit. Life lesson, never let two 13 year old boys run unsupervised on a science fair project. We were lucky that they did not blow up the house, the guitar was fairly tame, just loud.


So the school year is almost over, time to reflect.
Squirrel habitat, $108, creating real life guitar heroes, $200 the blessing of being AJ and Connor's mom - priceless!

Happy Birthday AJ!

Is it possible that this little baby boy is now the big guy that has out-grown me? AJ turned 14 today and I just cannot believe what a cool teenager he has turned out to be. AJ at 1 is the same as AJ at 14- easy going, laid back, fun loving with a lot to say!

He starts High School in the Fall and I am amazed at how quickly this time has gone by. I am so proud of him!

The Heat Win Again!

What a way to ring in #14! AJ had a tournament this weekend 2 hours away. They struggled yesterday with a tie and a loss (we know Bobo, like kissing your sister!) They had to win 3 today and did it! By the time he gets home he will be 14, I cannot believe it.

I was going to blog today about the 2nd most expensive school project we did this year. Chris has the picture on his phone and I need to change my dressing so we will have to hold that one for tomorrow - what a cliffhanger!

Memorial Day

This Memorial Day we are of course thinking of Andy and Layton (and the Mom's Aunt Linda and LuLu) and praying that they stay safe out there. While some kids look up to famous people or imaginary characters I know my boys look up to these guys. Connor said on the way home from Church today that he was thinking about Andy, Layton, Papa and Grandpa D and how awesome it was that they fought for our freedom, then he said "Mom, I might want to do that someday" It is pretty awesome having real life heroes for your kids.

So Andy and Layton, if you see this just know we are praying for you and hoping for a fast return, if "home" happens to be back here you know you always have a warm meal waiting for you (not to mention an X-box 360 tournament and a good game of horse!) We love you guys and thank you!

Supporting the Local Economy

So I have been on a kick that I would support our local restaurants and shops. With overall spending down and consumer confidence weak my theory is that the chain restaurants and big box stores would be fine and it was the Mom and Pop shops that would suffer. We have found a good Italian restaurant, a good Mexican restaurant (ok not AZ good but NC good), and as Dad blogged about last year even a good Japanese restaurant that greets you with a hearty "how y'all doin?!" The one move I had not made was coffee.
We do have a new local coffee shop so this week I decided to give it a try. I was leery as soon as I parked. There were only 2 cars in the spaces surrounding the shop, the one I parked next to had a license plate holder said "World's Greatest Maw." I walked in and was greeted warmly, she was super nice, told me my skirt was purdy and took my order. The South will not be rushed so about 10 min later I had my coffee. It tasted a bit like a cup of coffee that was cooked in the microwave for 23 min with a burnt marshmallow added for fun. Yuck!
What I really would like is for our furniture to come from NC again so I would not feel bad about my buying my coffee from Seattle. Is that too much to ask?

Maggy - K9 Cop

Maggy spent the morning on patrol. I think she was channeling one of the dogs we had growing up. Krystal would go crazy if Theresa and I started to fight. She wanted in on the action. This morning 2 kids in the neighborhood were play fighting on the way to school. Maggy stepped in and broke it up. Not on her watch! While I think Krystal was looking for a rumble, Maggy goes for peace and love! I think she feels better!

The View

Spring is here! I started taking some pictures but the sun was not really out so they are not great.

I am a little worried about Mags, I was taking pictures of her today and she does not look like she feels good. One possibility is over-eating. We had a day today like that commercial from awhile back where everyone said "I fed muffin" Connor and I both gave her breakfast - oops!

This is what we see from the front porch, paradise!!

The 100K Club

Proving my point about how difficult it is to go on vacation without investing hours of work to prepare and hours of work when you get back, I have had no time to blog since we got back from D.C. - Have fun at Disney Liz, sell your soul to the Mouse for a few days of fun! Just joking, it will be worth it!

Of course I have HUGE news! My car finally turned to 100K miles! I have been anxiously awaiting this day since about 97K miles. What a cool thing right? I even have had the camera in the car waiting for this day. I was a little afraid that it might happen when I was on the highway but as luck would have it the big odometer turn happened in the parking lot at work! All it took was a few extra miles (which just so happened to be convenient to Starbucks!) a photo op and a Latte, what else could a girl ask for??

Speaking of 100K miles, Happy Birthday Papa! Oh come on, you know you laughed at that!!

Spring has sprung in NC and finally all is green. I will take some pictures tomorrow and post them. It is so great to sit in the family room and look out at all of the beautiful trees! Living in the enchanted forest is great in spring and fall!

We're Back......

What a whirlwind! There was so much to see I had to tone down the OCD and just decide we would not be able to get it all done. The weather was a little challenging, it was cold and rainy for our 2 full days but there was so much to do inside we made it work. Arlington was amazing, Connor loved the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (where they make the money!) and I think we all appreciated the tributes to Washington and Lincoln and the White House. D.C. is just a fascinating place. I am so glad we went!

Poor Chris, all he wanted to do was go somewhere warm for spring break.......

Nothing like vacation with the boys. After AJ kept us up rolling around in bed all night (the kid cannot be still!) we started calling him Big Bird. All that noise was like a bird making a nest! Connor also had a good one, AJ was telling him to not do something in the hotel room because of housekeeping and Connor said "We have a maid? Cool! Mom is our maid at home." Truer words have not been spoken.

The Lincoln Memorial was amazing, the detail was beyond what I expected.

Connor was the lucky one, his brother was nice enough to give him a ride. As Connor pointed out, his legs are not big and strong like ours! We must have walked 20 miles in 3 days. If I had not stopped at every Starbucks along the way for another Venti I may have actually lost a few pounds!

Happy Birthday Connor!

Before we left for Washington DC we celebrated Connor's 10th birthday! I cannot believe he is 10 already, what a blessing he has been to us.

We went to Fire and Sticks for his birthday dinner which is a Japanese Hibachi Steakhouse, Connor is a big fan of the shrimp there. He even got on the chair and did a little chicken dance with his chef hat!

Just a fews days to go...

We are pretty excited about our last minute spring break plans. For most of the winter Chris insisted we were going somewhere "warm" for spring break. We tossed around a lot of ideas but in the end decided we were going to go to Washington DC! It is only a 6 hour drive from here (yea, no airplane!) When we moved to the east coast we said we would take advantage of the rich history here so no time like the present. The hard part is the extra hours at work to get ready for vacation and then the extra hours when you get back to make up for vacation.

Playin' in the Dirt

And Baseball begins. We had our "official" opening day for Connor on Saturday and AJs team had their first tournament. The weather was in the low 70's all weekend, perfect baseball weather.

Connor again did a great job catching but his big news was an inside the park home run! He was so excited. You might not be surprised to find out that he came home from practice on Sunday with a $20 bill. This was apparently the incentive one of the coaches offered up for a HR this year. You had to know Connor would be the first to pull in the $20!

AJ's team won their tournament which was great since it was the first of the year. Way to come out strong boys! The championship game was interesting to say the very least but AJ did a great job catching and the boys were thrilled with the win.

I love that they are both catching, AJ still loves to pitch so this is a close second and Connor loves to play the hot corner but there is something about them behind the plate that I love to watch!

Dinosaur Skeletons and Dip n Dots

Hello everybody. As you all know, I went to Atlanta GA last week. Well now I'm back to tell you my story about my experience in the empire state of the south's (Georgia's) biggest city. We had to leave the house at 4:40 in the morning. The busses were supposed to leave at 5:30 but those busses are never on schedule and we ended up leaving at 5:40 due to late kids. I was excited cause I got to see South Carolina for the first time and I have to say there was 3 words that describe South Carolina, peaches, fireworks, and the Lord (however, the I soon found out Georgia was more about the peaches than South Carolina.) So we arrived in Atlanta around noon and went straight to the CNN tour. I learned a lot about how CNN works. I also got a Dale Earnhardt Jr. hat there. After the CNN tour we went to the hotel. We were so loud that within the first 20 minutes, someone checked out cause of the noise. It was bad, the teacher even threatened to make us sleep on the bus, I guess he didn't know that I wouldn't mind sleeping on the bus. Then we went to dinner at the CNN food court. So the next morning we had to wake up at 6:00 to get breakfast. Then we went to the Fern Bank Museum where I saw dinosaur skeletons and bought Dip n' Dots. Then we went to the Atlanta Aquarium. There were whales and otters but no large or smallmouth bass. What's up with that? However there was catfish, striped bass, and alligator gar. Then we went to the Coca-Cola Pavilion. There, I got to try Coke products from Italy, China, Japan and many more countries. I also got a collectible glass coke bottle. Then we went to the Cumberland Mall to get dinner and roam around. Then we went back to the hotel to go to sleep. Then we woke up the next morning to pack and get breakfast. When we got are stuff loaded on the bus, we headed of to the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial. There wasn't much to see there besides MLK was buried there. Then we went to the Turner Field tour. This was insanely cool! we got to go in the dugout, see the museum and a lot of other cool stuff. I thought the tour guide was going to have a stroke. He was explaining how the grass worked and stuff and he was like the gr- gra grad grat grag he kept on slurring his speech. It was weird. So then we get on the bus to go home. It was long but it didn't seem that long probably cause we watched the Scorpion King and Transformers. We got to the school around 10 and got home about 10:30 it was fun and I'm glad I went.