Friday, January 30, 2009

Heart Basket

I totally stole this idea from HERE...but I didn't have that stamp set or punch or use her dimensions...but it's the same thing.  It took about 6 minutes...gotta looooooove the Cricut!


Look....I even added foof into the picture to make it look cuter...okay...it doesn't really help...but I couldn't put those 9 M&Ms back in the bag now could I?  I guess accessorizing my picture was really just a cheap ploy to have a little chocolate  :)





The colors are a little funky here...I was playing (unsuccessfully) with the adjustments in iPhoto.


I don't know how well you can see it, but I coated two of the basket sides in this glitter.  The glitter was on clearance after Christmas at Michael's...I think it might have been $2...but I'm not sure it was even  that much.  The pieces are big and look kind of retro.  It's awesome.  I like the super fine Martha glitter too...but this is really nice for something different.

Family Science Night


Last night was Family Science Night at Connor's school.  Here are the boys in the "Anatomy Room".  Sanford told Connor that this was who he dated before me...he said he couldn't stay with her because she only had half a brain.  That husband of mine.....he's suuuuch a comedian!  



Here they are in the "Physics Lab" hooking up the balloon to see thrust in action.  Once Daddy got the balloon on the right way...they were off...



I know it looks like a big picture of nothing ~ but look at the bottom...see the boys looking up at their balloon?  You can see just a little bit of their orange balloon at the very top of the picture...It all happened very quickly and I might be just a tad slow...okay, I'm a lot slow!



Here Connor is playing Mad Scientist.  He's doing an exothermic experiment...making heat in the test tube with a chemical reaction.  One of the reagents was yeast...the whole area smelled like a brewery.  I'm pretty sure that's a BAD thing in an elementary school!



One of the other experiments in the "Chem Lab" was to make Pop Rocks.  Connor is showing how the real packaged ones pop on his tongue.  He just wanted to make sure we had a clear view of the data!

Connor had a "tremendously good" time...he's asking for a set of test tubes and a microscope.  I hope he's  happy with a  Diet Coke and some Mentos!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Valentine Mantle

So... I decided Friday morning it was time to decorate the mantle for Valentine's Day...the only problem was...I didn't have any decorations.  I rummaged through the house and my scrap cubby and this is what I came up with.  It won't make Martha Stewart come running to my house, but it took about 30 minutes,  it was free, and you can tell what holiday is coming up.  Good enough!The picture on the far left of Sanford and I is from the cruise  :)


This picture of Connor is from 2 years ago.  We splurged on goofy Valentine's Day pictures at the Picture People because he had an appointment with the oral surgeon the next day and we thought his front teeth were going to get yanked out (due to trauma from an accident in the backyard).  The teeth ended up staying in, but I'm glad we had the pictures done anyway.  The boy is seriously CUTE!   The LOVE in the frame is just a Making Memories chipboard piece that has been sitting in a drawer for a couple of years with a little ribbon tied on to it.  It's actually just shoved into the frame on top of the glass.



This is my favorite!  Just some stuff that was lying around put together.





One of my New Year's resolutions was to get 2 Christmas presents made every month.  Here is one almost finished, but since it  is going to someone who might be looking, I can only show a tiny piece.  It was a lot more stitching than I thought it would be, but it's turning out pretty cute.  I think I'll make a few more.





Thursday, January 22, 2009

"Super" Easy...

okay...it's not perfect, but it's pretty funny!This is a template from the Paper Trey web site by Lauren Meader, who is awesome!!  All you do is buy the template ($5), put paper in your printer, and print out the pattern.  You cut, score, decorate, and tape...poof!   You look talented even when you're not!


I even stole the Superwoman standing on a chocolate bar from one of the Amuse teams blogs, but I can't remember whose.  So hysterical...





Standing on a giant chocolate bar, wearing glittery red boots...could  life get any better than that?

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

5 minute card

Connor has a birthday party to go to this afternoon...I went to Target 3 times this weekend and completely forgot to get a card.  So...this is what he's bringing.  The card really took about 5 minutes, a cricut machine and a cuttlebug.  There's nothing like having the right tools!


I picked up this Amuse Super Hero on Sunday for Connor's Valentines. He just cracks me up!!  I guess it will work for birthdays too.  Inside the card says ~ Have a SUPER birthday~  Corny, but I don't think 8 year olds are all that particular!

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Busy Boys

The boys were busy today...First Connor had Little League tryouts.  The kids were supposed to have an assigned number on the back of their shirt in masking tape so that the coaches would know who was who when they were observing and taking notes.  Well, no son of mine was going out with goofy, ugly numbers on his back...at least not when I have the world's greatest scrapbook toy!   That Cricut is better than chocolate cheesecake to someone who's PMS!!  Seriously, 4 minutes and the letters were cut and taped (using my awesome new Scotch ATG 714~Thank you Santa!!~)    New cleats, new batting gloves, a number on his back and we were ready to go!



There were just a few last minute pointers from dad...



and then Connor did a little fielding....



and a little hitting...



and a little running.  

He did awesome!!! 

He caught a couple of the pop flies, threw almost to where he was supposed to,  did pretty well fielding the grounders, and hit 3 of the 4 pitches from the pitching machine.  We couldn't have asked for any better!  The boys dropped me off at home and headed to Game Stop to get a new Wii game.  After a short gaming session, they went out to work on the garage.   



They are working on getting everything set up out there to run trains.  Part of the master plan is to have an electric winching system, called a Garage Gorilla, to raise and lower the trains.  That way we can both still park in.   This was definitely a "Like father.....

like son"  moment.  Too cute...now, if only they'd actually finish it!

Friday, January 16, 2009

Cupcake Afternoon

The neighborhood kids are planning a  block party for themselves (okay...a few of the moms might be helping) this afternoon.  I thought they might enjoy some chocolate cupcakes with whipped peanut butter frosting.  They ARE just kids though, so I  used my leftover liners and decorated with a ziploc bag with a hole cut in the corner.





Just in case you care....


Whipped Peanut Butter Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup peanut , creamy
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4-1/3 c heavy cream

Mix the butter and peanut butter in a mixer until smooth...add powdered sugar and mix until incorporated...add cream slowly and whip until fluffy.

Family Pictures





Auntie Kristine came from Idaho to see Connor.  He would have rather had a visit from Cousin Lindsey...but Auntie wasn't all bad...at least she played some handball and  a little Wii!


This is as close as the Carvajals get to a nice family portrait...



See what I mean?  Even G. Jane is a goofy poser!!!


That's better....but it only happened when I threatened them with no dessert!

oh...and look...I figured out how to get all the pictures oriented the right way!!  Thanks Sanford!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

What's new in the craft cubby...





I saw the new line of Amuse Valentine stamps and couldn't resist!  Here are a few of the goodies I've been playing with...This box holds 6 of those 100 calorie Hershey candy bars perfectly!

These stamps and sentiments just crack me up!!



What exactly does it say about me that I made a birthday treat for a dog?
That wiener dog just makes me laugh!!




I got all technical here...there's diamond glaze on the glass part to make it look shiny and flocking on the whipped cream to make it look fluffy...who knew?!?



It's a shame you can't see the detail on the gumball machine because it is just the sweetest thing!!  There's more glaze on the glass part.  This box is an A Muse pattern and it's cute...but it's really to small to be very practical.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

2008 Recap...a few shots of Connor each month...

JanuaryConnor got a camera for Christmas and one of his New Year's Resolutions was to take more pictures...oh, wait...that was one of mine...His was actually to perfect the cheesy pose!




We went to the Auto Show at the Convention Center where Connor needed to sit in and on EVERYTHING possible!



Here are the boys at Father /Son Game Night at Connor's school.  This was the event I chaired for the PTA this year.  It turned out better than I thought it would.  All the boys seemed to go home happy.





February
Here are G. Jane (that's what Connor calls her because that's what she's named on our Wii...it doesn't hold enough letters for her to be Grandma Jane...and the G. Jane thing has just sort of stuck) and Connor at the Cub Scout Blue and Gold dinner.  You can see the cake we made in the background.




Here is a close up of the cake we made.  Connor and I spent several days sorting and gluing on candy!





March
Here are Connor and Cousin Kaylin out in Grammi's backyard after the annual egg hunt.




Connor LOVES chocolate!  Okay, he loves any form of sugar!





April
Crazy hair day with an attitude.  He was crackin' me up with the hair, the Mythbusters Tshirt and his black Converse!



Here's a close up of one of the stars that I stencilled onto his hair.



One of the Tiger Scout activities was to go to a television studio.  All of the boys (including Sanford) loved that outing!



We went to Little League Night at Petco Park.  I think we actually made it through 3 whole innings...We also made it through hot dogs, soda, popcorn, cotton candy, a few peanuts, some Cracker Jacks, and a beer for Mommy!





May
We went to Legoland.   Connor really wanted to go for his birthday, but my friend had passes that let us in for free...can't pass that up...so we went a little early.   It was fun, but certainly not worth buying a membership since Connor was the only one that really enjoyed it.   Here he is driving the boat..he also drove a car, a helicopter, a fire truck and his parents crazy!



Connor got to sign the Principal's Pride board at school for doing a great job on a writing assignment.   




June
Here in a nutshell is the real virtue of being an only child.  You might tend to be just a tad overindulged...but just a little...really!~ For his 7th birthday Connor wanted to go to Sea World.  The membership passports were a real deal at Costco, so we went ahead and bought them as a birthday present.  I thought we might go 2 or 3 times, but with the park being open late nights in the summer  and Sanford having football...okay...weight training  at school, Connor and I went a bunch!  It doesn't hurt that there is the CUTEST stamp store just a few minutes away!




July
Connor spends a lot of time every summer in Grammi's pool.



August
Here is Connor on the first day of second grade.  Note the short haircut.  One week before school started, Connor decided to cut his own hair...in the front of course and down to the scalp.  This haircut was the best they could do to fix it.  He was GEL-BOY for quite a while!




September

Here is Connor with the class mascot wired to his handlebars taking him for a little bike ride.  It is just wonderful to live in a cul-de-sac, especially one with a lot of kids around Connor's age.  There seems to always be someone around to ride bikes or play handball.




October


Connor was a pirate for Halloween...It was an awesome costume, but all of the pictures are on the laptop.  Here he is after he got his face painted at Sea World.  We are sooo loving those passports that we got for Connor's birthday!



November

Here is Connor dressed and with his hair done for the play he was in...Aladdin Jr.  He played Prince Baba of Ganoush...who was basically Elvis.  Check out that pout and those lashes...with dark hair, he really would look like a baby Elvis!




December
Here are Connor and Cousin Kaylin in front of Grammi's tree on Christmas Eve.


Hopefully we'll be a little more timely about posting things as they actually happen this year!
Oh, and maybe I'll learn how to rotate photos so you don't have to turn your head sideways to see the boy!!