Fun at the Science Center.......

So we went to the Carnegie Science Center on Saturday with my parents. Connor had a blast, but then again, he always does when we're there. His favorite place (as seen above) is the fourth floor, where the water tables and play set area is located. However, mommy can only take about 15 minutes at a time up there because the noise level gives me an utter migraine.

My dad got a kick out of the electricity stations. In the one above, you were supposed to grab the two brass knobs and watch the lightbulb light up. My dad thought it was hilarious.

My darling husband double-dog-dared me to get on the unicycle thingy they have at the SportsWorks building. If you know me, you know I hate heights. I never used to be that way, but all of a sudden, I am prone to vertigo. Riding in the back seat of a car makes me nauseous. But I wasn't going to not do this. I was double-dog-dared! So I did. It actually wasn't as bad as I thought. I didn't look down at all, which was probably the only thing that kept me from getting ill while up there.

My mom, pictured above, was trying her hand at using a computer to stop a nuclear submarine from "melting down" by making the necessary repairs. Needless to say, neither she nor I were able to do it. Sorry hypothetical ocean life in this game. We didn't mean to kill you. :(

And lastly, here is Connor and some random kid playing in the water. Pap was smart in not getting too close. Anyone who knows Connor knows that when he has water, you'd better watch out!

All in all, it was a fun afternoon. Tiring, but fun.

Bedtime stories with Connor and Gabe

Connor has recently started reading bedtime stories to our cat, Gabe. It's cute, because Gabe actually likes it. If he already isn't in Connor's room waiting for us during bath time, he wanders in the minute he hears us in there, plops his portly kitty butt down and waits for story time. Sometimes he even gets into bed with Connor and cuddles a bit afterward. Connor loves it. He's been trying to make nice with Gabe for two years. Tonight's selection was "Goodnight Moon," which Connor happily read to Gabe twice. Gabe gave it two kitty face rubs of approval when he was done. :)

New neighbors.......

It would seem we have some new neighbors. Several times over the last week, I've found these deer hanging out in the only snow-free spot in the next-door neighbors' yard. I have another photo of them (I made it to 12 before they started to run, but I'm pretty sure there were at least 3 more), but it's grainy, so I'm probably not going to put it up. If they come back, I'll get another one. We've always had deer in the yard, but I've never seen more than 5-6 at a time. I guess it's just a sad state of the area that deer have to move into neighborhoods because there are very few wooded areas left for them to inhabit. :(

Whose bed is it anyway?

So not only did I catch Gabe napping on Connor's bed yesterday......but he was snuggling Connor's blanket, too! And he was not amused when I told him to get his furry behind off the blanket and the bed. He made one of those mumbling cat noises at me and proceeded to curl back up. I had to manually remove him from the bed, only to find him up there again less than an hour later. I guess he gets an A for persistence.

A Scotch Tape Christmas......

Yesterday, my mom and dad came up for a visit and to bring Christmas presents in the event the weather gets bad again. Among the gifts was one from my sister, Ann, who said Connor had to open it that day. Once we opened it, we knew why. Connor has been a bit.....obsessed......with Scotch Tape. Now, he uses it correctly most of the time. But still, he goes overboard taping stuff that probably doesn't really need taping. However, we were going through a lot of tape and he was always putting it down and forgetting where it was, driving me crazy with his "mom, where is my tape? Can you find my tape?" insistence every 10 minutes. So Ann got him the wristband tape dispenser. As you can see from the above photo, when he first put it on, he wasn't quite sure what it was.

Even after pulling out a piece of tape, he stared at it, not quite sure yet what to make of it.

Then sure enough, the little light bulb in his head went off, and he figured it out. And that was when the Great Taping Adventure began. Nothing was spared. *sigh* If only I could get him to use his new power for good.

The good news is, I did get him to stop taping long enough to take a picture with gram and pap.

Dear God

This morning, my 5 year old made me cry. Profusely. Not because he did something bad. Not because he stubbed my toe. Not because of anything negative. These were good tears. And I just have to share with you all what it was that evoked such a response from me.


Connor is at the age where he has noticed most of his friends have brothers or sisters (or both). He asks a lot of questions. We don't always have the answers. Only God knows why some kids have siblings and others don't. As part of this conversation, I always tell Connor that there are little boys and girls in the world who don't have mommies or daddies to love them, and God sometimes helps those boys and girls find new parents through something called adoption.


This morning, when he got up, he told me he wanted to type a letter to God. So we got out the laptop and he typed: "Dear God, please give mommies and daddies to the boys and girls who don't have any. Thanks, Connor." After he typed it, we printed it out and he asked me to give it to the mailman so he could deliver it to God.


I am so proud of my child for thinking about others. This time of year, it is so easy to get caught up in the rush of the holidays and spend more time thinking about ourselves than others. Sometimes it takes the wisdom of a 5 year old to get us back on track.

Snow, trees and acrobats.....

It's been awhile since I blogged. I know. I know. But with the new job and other responsibilities, I've just plain been too busy. So I'm going to update you a bit today with some photos. Earlier this week, we had the first snow of the season. It wasn't much more than a dusting, but it was still pretty. I like snow, but after last winter, I'm praying we don't get that much again this winter. Three feet of it in 12 hours is just too much. I like my snow in moderation.

We decided to put the tree up today. We've had our outside stuff up for a week, but waited until today to do the tree. Connor and daddy did most of the work, which was nice.

Here they are putting the final touches on it.

Connor has a little fiber optic tree in his room. He put some decorations on it this year. He's very proud of it.

This has absolutely nothing to do with Christmas.......but Zorro, our formerly feral kitty, has finally discovered the joy that is the heater vents. My other cat, Gabe, practically lives on those things all winter long (to the point he gets dry skin and kitty dandruff). Zorro seemed afraid of them last year, but this year, he has been hanging out near them more and more. The other day, I caught him all-out napping in front of this one in our computer room. It's taken over a year, but I think we've finally assimilated him. :)

And this last photo is a perfect example of why it's a good thing I have a strong heart. I went to the store today and when I got back, discovered daddy and Connor were working on their own version of an acrobatic act. Connor has amazing balance. He definitely doesn't get that from me.