Open day of the season.....and the ensuing battle wounds

So today was opening day of the baseball season here and Andrew had a doubleheader today. 

Andrew has graduated into the "real" baseball league this year where they play by all of the real rules including lead-offs, slidding, and having the kids pitch.

We were a little worried when he first started practicing, but Andrew's coach is EXCELLENT and has really helped Andrew, and all the rest of the players, blossom into quite the ball players.

Today though, as we watched these 8, 9 and 10 year-olds hone their skills as they attempted to play a real ball game, we knew it was only a matter of time before someone got hurt.....

yep, it was Andrew.

A monsterous pitcher on the other team (whose fastball probably rivals kids twice his age) was having a tough time getting much control over his strength and his pitches were going wild.

Andrew moved out of the way for 2 pitches, but the third one caught him in the back....hard.

He took it like a little man though and his coach took him out of the game to rest. 

Now, his dad has convinced him to be proud of his battle wounds and I'm sure he'll be showing it off to all of his friends!

Other than that nasty event though, the games went great. 

It's going to be a fun season!!

The Dragon Master

We took the boys this weekend to go see the new movie, How to Train Your Dragon (which was very cute by the way) which inspired Andrew to create his own dragons today.

For those of you who have seen the movie, the first one is Night Fury and the second one (chasing Night Fury) is "the big one fat one at the end of the movie" according to Andrew.

He's such a little artist!

Spring has sprung.....

As I was sitting out the computer and looking out the window today, I was noticing how pretty everything was looking as it is begining to bloom.

Today may have not been the nicest day (it's cloudy and raining on and off), but the nature in my backyard was beautiful anyway and the raindrops even made for some good pictures!

(The picture of the pink and white flowers on the table are an arangement I got from Andrew's class today in appreciation for volunteering in there this year.  It was so sweet because it came with letters from each student for me.  Very cute!)

Enjoy!

S'mores!!

Grant and I have been looking for an outdoor firepit for awhile now and finally found one we liked yesterday.

So, we had to break it in last night by roasting marshmallows for s'mores.

The boys were so excited!

And even though most of the wood we had was pretty wet and it was difficult to get a fire going,

we did manage to keep it burning long enough for everyone to get a s'more.

Even Bella made it to the event for a little bit!

And once again, I was behind the camera :)

Busy weekend

The Buffaloe family had an extremely busy (allbeit, fun-filled) weekend with family.

Friday night the boys spent the night at Grandma and Grandpa's house while Grant and I went out with Amanda and Anthony to celebrate Grant's recent successes at work. 

We had lots of fun at dinner and at a comedy club and I am sooo proud of Grant. 
He is such a hard worker and takes such good care of me and the boys. 
I am very blessed to have him as my husband.

Then on Saturday, Grant and I had our soccer game (tie: 0-0) and then dinner at my parents house.

Sunday: Grant took the day off work so we got to go to church together as a family and then had Easter dinner at my parents house.

I didn't get any pics of the boys hunting for Easter eggs (what a terrible mom I am) but I did take some pictures of the dessert I made (that makes me an even worse mom because I remember my cake and not my kids!)

Anyway, the dessert was fun to make and the eggs were delicious....how can you go wrong with Oreos and cream cheese?!

Finally, last night my brother and sisters and I had a "siblings night out".

Just the 5 of us went out together (without husbands/fiances/girlfriends) for pizza and bowling and then to the Cheesecake Factory.

None of us bowled very well (Ben won with a 90 something) but we had a good time together and decided we need to make this a regular occurance.

Notice how I'm not in any of the pictures?! 

That's the advantage to being the one taking them!

Anyway, we had lots of fun this weekend and spending time with my family makes me realize just exactly how blessed I am.

I love you all!!

Even Spiderman needs a rest every once in a while....

I caught Isaac in a rare "calm moment" the other day and had to share.

I guess even super heroes get worn out....

"Meanest mommy rules"

I recently was reading a hilarious blog that is comprised

of a list of "mean mommy rules" added every day.

Rules varied from

"Rule #246:
I insist that you wear more than

snow boots & a backpack when you leave the house"

to

"Rule #234:
No matter how irritated you are with your brother,

it is NOT ok to empty your water bottle on his bed

and then pull the covers up over it so Mummy finds it at bedtime."

More than once, while reading these rules,
I found myself thinking,

"I've said that" or "That sounds like my boys".

So I thought it would be funny
 to add a few of my own mean mommy rules here.

Here we go:

 #1.
Your matchbox cars and bouncy balls do NOT
 belong in the dishwasher or oven. 

The smell of burning toys is next to impossible
 to get out of the house.

#2.
No matter how much you may not like a meal,

calling grandma's Thanksgiving dinner "garbage" is never o.k.

#3.
If you're in trouble,
shouting out "Help Me" in another language

(Spanish, Ayudame! Ayudame!)

won't get you help any quicker.

#4.
Eggs, no matter how tempting,
are not to be used to decorate the back patio.

#5.
Any Christmas presents that are "accidentally"
opened before Christmas will be returned.

#6.
Making a hole in the bathroom door
with your Spiderman walkie talkie
is NOT o.k. no matter how badly you want
to get in while your brother is in there.

#7.
Silly Putty is not meant for your pants pockets. 

 If it does end up there, PLEASE tell me before I wash them.

#8.
Pennies do NOT belong down the air vents.

#9.
Scissors are never, never, never for anything other than paper.

#10.
If you're angry,
do not throw such a big fit on the floor

that you give yourself rug-burn on your forehead.

#11.
The couch is not a jungle gym.

#12.
I am not a jungle gym.

#13.
The backyard is not a place for peeing
or for naked slip-n-sliding.

#14.
The cats don't wrestle like you do.

#15.
That toy does not belong to you just because you are holding it.

#16.
While you live at my house,
you will have to find your "inside" voice.

#17.
No, it's never o.k. to pull your brother pants down,

punch him in his "privates",

 or streak across the house
after you've just gotten out of the shower.

#18.
The idea of "less is more" always applies to

toothpaste, toilet paper, and dad's cologne.

#19.
Sorry, but candy will never be an acceptable substitute for dinner.

#20.
Screaming over the top of your brother
while he's trying to tattle on you, does not keep me
from hearing what he's saying.

*The above mentioned are neither fabricated

nor embellished because honestly.....

there's no need.

They are in fact,

the overwhelmingly true rules

 that are necessary in my life with 2 boys.*

Life is always interesting! :)