Mr. Particular, Particularly Sweet

Parker really only cuddles when he doesn't feel good. For some reason I always try to convince myself that when he does start cuddling with me it is all of the sudden that he really loves me and wants to cuddle with me. (This is in some part true- but seriously every time he cuddles with me- within hours I am cleaning up throw up.) Well the other morning he cuddled.( yes- then he threw up) . But it was while I was holding my not so little boy that I chuckled(AGAIN!) at the funny little personality he has. I was once again reminded of how particular he is- for example... he had to hold the blanket, the doggie, the dino, and the baby mickey all while we cuddled. Then of course we had to have the binkie and the sippy cup too. It is very crowded but always appreciated cuddling. Here are (for the record) his latest fixations and funny things that make me adore this little boy. Plus- an awesome video of Parker eating spaghetti and milk. ( Yes- he poured his cup of milk into his bowl of spaghetti. And I didn't stop him. And then I let him eat it. In fact I videoed it, so that means I actually encouraged it??)


1. He loves all things tractors.( pretty much any truck, van, bus, big rig, and garbage truck also fall into this category. I often find him yelling out the window "tra-grrrrrr" in the loudest voice possible as the truck collects our garbage.) He cries when I take off his tractor jammies. So the other day I hit up Target and bought a bunch of tacky tractor shirts. For $5 each... seriously worth it. He wore one of them out of the store.

2.He really likes to cook. The other day it was an entire box of corn pops dumped into the back of his dump truck and a pizza tray. Today it was a bag of sugar and left over Valentine's sprinkles into my glass bowl. Must lock all cupboards now.


3. He finally will watch an entire t.v. show. This may be bad parenting on my behalf but it comes in real handy when making super nutritious meals for my family so I figure it is a trade off I am willing to make. His new love- Yo Gabba Gabba. The kind of crazy- perhaps even somewhat indie version of Sesame Street that can be viewed on Nick Jr. He calls it "wee-go, wee-go"
( a version of wiggle wiggle- referring to a song that they sing.) Tonight when taking him to bed he waved goodnight to the picture of Jesus and then goodnight to the "wee-go,wee-go" (t.v.)


Mr. Particular indeed, but in my book the sweetest little kid. And very fun to have around. And now a good ol Parker video.

*** totally off the subject but very important: I need to respond to John's earlier endorsement of Vampire Weekend with my endorsement. After watching Enrique perform on the today show the other day.. I must endorse him for artist of the month. We will celebrate all month long. And seriously.... the only Vampires I can wholeheartedly endorse are those with the last name Cullen.***

I'd like to thank....

...the writers. Thank you for coming back. It has been a long, dark, reality tv filled few months without you. Thank goodness for the "you couldn't have scripted it better if you were a striking hollywood writer" presidental primaries, and the Jon Stewart/Conan O'Brian/Stephen Colbert fued. But a man cannot live on politics alone.

So it is with great joy that the Connors family welcomes the Oscar's into our home.

Sophie watched the "princesses" roll in with great enjoyment and has already awarded Jenifer Garner the "most beautiful princess" award, an assesment that shows a heretofor unknown appreciation for the color black.

Having seen the best princess of the night, here are a few more things the fam would like to see:
1- I'm rooting for a "never gonna happen" best picture award for the comedy in the mix.
2-I would be a little less suprised but still happy to see Ellen Page win best actress.

3- Best Original Song- "Falling Slowly" from Once. For Sure. No question.

4- On the subject of music, I'm going to have to side with Tyler Henderson and say the Oscar small print* got in the way of what certainly should have at least been conidered for the best original score, the Johnny Greenwood work on There Will Be Blood. (this choice is biased by my appreciation of his role is rock history and my love for Tyler and Stacy Henderson.)
*Clearly there is a strick Webster's dictionary originalist on the Academy Awards Supreme Court requiring 'original: meaning 1' be applied. The work must "belong or pertain to the beginning of something, or to a thing at its beginning." Greenwood's work was not entirely original to There Will Be Blood.

5- Sophie wants Ratatouille win something. (oh it just did. sweet!)
6- I'd like to see Cate Blanchett win best supporting actress for playing Bob Dylan, mostly because I like Bob Dylan, particularly the Newport Folk Fest electric Bob Dylan that she plays.
And, that's all for now. The welcome back party is about to start. And in the distance, soft but steady, I can hear the footsteps of new episodes of 30 rock. Yes, even on this night of nights for the big screen, television sings it's siren song. And oh how I have missed it.
Here's to you, scripted television, may the changing tides of technology never seperate us again.**

** as a matter of full disclosure, and in an attempt to avoid Hillary Clinton accusing me of stealing words, the general dramatic feel of this sentence was lifted from the 19th century poet Walt Whitman, who wrote:

Television, I give you my hand,

I give you my love more precious than money,

I give you myself before preaching or law;

Will you give me yourself? Will you come travel with me?

shall we stick by each other as long as we live?

Walt Whitman, from Song of the Open Road, NIV

Walt is a national co-chair of this blog and suggested I use this particular wording for dramatic effect.

Indecent Exposure

Sophie got a Fisher Price digital camera for her birthday. We thought this would be the perfect gift for her becuase she LOVES taking pictures and we got a little tired of her toting our camera around the house to do so. That being said she has spent the last six days with camera in hand taking pictures of everything and anything- and multiple times. She could have a future in this field.

Today she begged John and me to upload the pictures to the computer. She loved to do this with our camera and then scroll through all the pictures on the screen and explain them to me. It is pretty cute to watch- she gets really excited. So we said ok.

Let me set the scene for today. John goes to get the cord to hook up the camera to the computer. John, Sophie and I sit down in front of the computer to do the uploading. I am eating a fabulous plate of left over smothered pork burritos. We start scrolling through the 297 pictures taken by Sophie since Monday. Mostly normal stuff. There are maybe 25-30 of her new build a bear,

some 30+ of her feet and shoes,

a couple blurry shots of Parker (I am assuming he just wouldn't hold still....),

a ton of the Backyardigans on our t.v. ,

some self portraits,


and one picture of me. Totally naked!

Yep, you read right. Just when it was getting a little predictable there pops up a picture of me getting out of the shower. I had forgotten about the other day when Sophie rushed into the bathroom unannounced, camera in hand, and snapped a picture. The next three pictures are of me trying to get a towel on as fast as possible. John and I couldn't stop laughing. It was a hilarious little moment at out house! And sorry- that picture won't be attached!

an endorsement

I am officially endorsing the already mega (and perhaps over) hyped* Vampire Weekend as favorite album of January 2008 and asking all my delagates to vote likewise.




It's a fun album, particularly if you wished Paul Simon's Graceland was a little less wimpy. Or if you have ever thought, "I guess you could argue The Clash saved rock and roll but Joe Strummer's post-Clash career was just as good." Or if you have ever thought, "saved rock and roll my foot! Rock and roll needs saving about as much sexy needs bringing back. I swear every five years someone saves rock and roll. Didn't they say that about the Strokes too! and what did they ever do" Or if you like the Strokes.

With highly anticipated (at least by me) releases from Wolf Parade, the Mountain Goats, Kathleen Edwards, Death Cab, Brit Daniel (of Spoon), Colin Meloy (of the Decemberists), The Headlights, and maybe (cross your fingers) Paul Jacobsen landing this year I can't imagine this album will be one of my top ten albums of the year. But I do like it. So there you go.


Editors note: After a stint living in England and 4 years of construction the offensive effect of the so called "curse" words has been dulled, if not entirely eradicated, from my soul. I accept full responsibility for any offesense taken by any listener/viewer of any album/movie I suggest and invite said offendee to call and swear at me all they want. But, as fair warning, Mom, you might not like the lyrics on some of these songs.


*A favorite music blog recently wondered, "when did it become so cool to be the first to get sick of something?" Ask the next hipster you see.

Good-bye old friend.

I was really hungry sunday night. The kind of hungry where nothing looks good anymore.

Except Dino Nuggets.

I have been known to steal a dino or two from the kids at the dinner table, but up until Sunday, I had been able to resist consuming them in any way that would allow these juicy, chicken based wonders to be designated my "main course." (even though the company website seems to recommend serving them as a meal with watermelon, grapes and curly fries.)

Dino nuggets are actually pretty good if you are waiting for a grilled chicken ceasar salad and you steal one from your son to satisfy the hunger for five minutes. But two days after the incident, I can say with conviction, dino nuggets should not be eaten as a meal.

The short story is this: Sunday night, between Amy Winehouse's "fresh from rehab" rendition of 'rehab' (btw: the Dapp Kings have got to be the greatest backing band in the world. Did you see those singers dancing? IT WAS AWESOME!) and the old man trifecta that was John Fogerty, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Little Richard I ate 15 dino nuggets. (For those who didn't watch the Grammy's that is about a 10 minute time span. A 1.5 nugget per minute pace.)

I have eaten very little since and enjoyed nothing.

In defense of the pre-cooked, breaded sirens, I should note that I far exceeded the recommended serving size. But this was not entirely my fault. First, I was hungry to the point of being irrational. It has been years since I released myself from any feelings of guilt or responsibility for the actions of crazy hungry John. Second, I am used to cooking enough nuggets to feed Sophie, Sophie's friend Henry, and Parker. That's roughly enough nuggets to fill a cookie sheet (about 15.) So, as a creature of habit, I cooked a full tray. I knew it was too many when I took them out of the oven. But then The Dapp Kings came on and I do love the soul revival sound and, well, the next time I looked at the plate the nuggets were gone. I checked the box and learned that 4 nuggets is the recommended serving size. That puts me just shy 400% of one serving. Sometimes you don't know you ate too much until 15 or 20 minutes later. Not the case here. It felt like an accidental overdose. I am only now starting to enjoy food again.

So to you, once revered Dino Nugget, tamer of wild childern, harbinger of of protien and fiber, I bid a somber farewell. I honestly think I can never eat one of you again.

RIP

Dino Nuggets.

Family Favorite (for the whole family minus Ashley) 2006-2008

Revlon Power Gloss and Birthday Parties

Sophie turns four tomorrow. All of the sudden she is so grown up. The thoughts she has crack me up and I find myself constantly having to hold back laughter when I am talking to her. Last night was a classic example. She had recieved some fancy lip gloss as a birthday present and had been religiously applying it all day. Then last night we were watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on tv when a commercial for Revlon Power Lip Gloss came on. The ad's claim- it stays on no matter what! I looked over and Sophie was puckering her lips. She asked me, "Mom, is my lip gloss 'Power Gloss'?" Not wanting to dissapoint.. I said, "Sure, Soph!" She then asked, "Is it still on?" I answered, "Yes." Then she had me come over to her and she kissed me quite intensely. "Is it still on?" Yep. Man, was she happy that she had power gloss. Thank you advertising people!

Another Sophie thought... she had her first friend party. It was so fun. I decorated the house with valentine's lanterns, red streamers, made my first barbie cake and invited 7 little friends and cousins. She was darling and was showered with many fancy and fun barbie gifts and man life was good. Oh, to be four again and have the world be complete with nothing more than barbies! The kids were darling and it was such a fun afternoon. Tomorrow night is what Sophie calls her "big kid" party- where family is coming over to celebrate. I love birthdays and I certainly love my little Soph! Happy Birthday, sweetie.

Six degrees of separation from the olympic hopeful

Kevin Bacon is the actor/musician/Hanes co-spokesman who threw himself a spectacular birthday party at the Stein Eriksen Lodge in 2004 and invited, as a musical guest, the band Cake.
Cake followed the moderate yet suprising success of thier 1994 single "rock and roll lifestyle" with the classic 1996 album Fashion Nugget. It contained the hits Frank Sinatra and The Distance. In 1996 Cake was seen in concert by the awkward looking teen fan, John Connors.
The night of my wedding I was transported with my lovely wife to The Hotel Monnoco in Salt Lake City not by a limo or a horse drawn carriage but in the back of a jeep, piloted flawlessly by my good friend Jason Gardner. Looking back, it may not have been the most romantic choice.

Later, at his own wedding, Jason wisely choose former quarterback and all around good guy Jeff Fowler to be a groomsman.

Jeff Fowler, in arguably the best decision of his life, married Delta sweetheart Cynthia Losee.

And Finally, in 2008 Cynthia Losee Fowler ran the Houston Marathon is something like 2 minutes (2 hours and 41 minutes I think actually) and qualified for the Olympic Trials (in Boston, April 2008) successfully trumping any accomplishment by any of the previously listed characters. She is currently in talks to replace Kevin Bacon in all future Hanes ads. And she's nice. We are very proud to know her. Seriously. Way to go, Cynth.

Parker Maxwell Connors

I don't want the only picture of my boy to be the 'running naked' picture we posted as our first test post. So, here are some more recent favorites.

Sledding.

I heard Diablo Cody say the other day that she thinks some high school kids end up having sexual relations because they are bored and there is nothing on tv. (incidentally, if this is true, then the christian coalition, or whoever, best be getting their nose up in this writer's strike soon or we're going to be having babies like a war just ended.) I maintain that kids are doing it because they aren't spending enough time out in the snow on sleds. There are so many baby-making prohibitive things about sledding. Layer upon layer of clothing. Oppressive cold. Runny noses. I'm not sure why it isn't taught in schools frankly.
The spectacularly consistent snowfall in Utah this season has provided more than its share of frustrations. Traffic has been a nightmare. I have had to literally dig myself a path out of my driveway more than a few mornings and I am constantly standing in snow at work. But, on the positive side, neither of my kids have ever seen this much snow, and seeing them so awed and excited is worth any number of long drives. After one of the big snows storms in January all the snow on our roof came crashing down in a giant avalanche. (Our roof is metal and this happens after every snow storm actually.) My childish mind instantly saw the potential for a sleding hill, and with the help of my neighbor, a snow blower, a 4 by 8 sheet of plywood, and three hours of spare time we created the first annual Connors' front yard sledding hill. It has been a success thus far, though Ashley would tell you that I obsess about the hill's maintenance way too much. I find myself wanting to groom it nightly, and, since fresh powder is not ideal for a sleding hill, I spend a fair amount of time working on it after each storm. Oh, but it is worth it. Here are some photos of the hill's season thus far. You may notice the height of the ramp increasing over time.



Sophie and her friend Henry on opening night. You can't see, but the line behind them is about 10 kids long. Shane and Jeni (our great neighbors) had a junior jazz basketball team over for a party.
Ashley and Sophie, opening night again. This is probably Sophie's 50th time on the hill. She is, as you can see in her eyes, delirous from the early stages of hypothermia and drunk on hot chocolate.

This is the most recent picture of the hill, in the beginning stages of it's weekly maintenance this afternoon. There has been a lot of snow this week. If this keeps up the hill will reach the roof soon. Here's hoping!

Sophie in action today.

Where credit is due...

In the spirit of giving credit where credit is due, here is a list of a few things I have recently accepted to be true and said truth's harbinger.

TRUTH/TRUTH GIVER
1. Say Hi to Your Mom is acutally a pretty cool band/Brandi Sessions
I was hesitant at first.There is very little "critical" cred to hide behind. And they do sound kind of like a wimpy Smith's cover band sometimes. And the vampire obsession is a little too cutesy. But I do like me a good pop song. and who can argue with Sweet, Sweet Heartkiller? Additionally, one of my absolute favorite local bands, Atherton, will be opening for them, or him I guess, at Kibly in March.

2. Stabbing a double stuff oreo in the stuffing with a fork and then dipping it in milk until the bubbles stop rising is the most effective way to get a completely even soak on your cookie/ Scott Jacobsen
This is true. I still find myself craving the fingers in the milk sometimes though, and a really, really soaked oreo will still fall off the fork.

3. Sleeping in a hoodie may help you get sleep better/ Ashely Connors
I was worried that it would be uncomfortable but I was wrong.

4. A blue tooth headset is a must have in construction/ Jared Parker
I think these things look really dumb and I am embarassed to be seen wearing it, but, I can install baseboard and talk to my wife at the same time. And it's more safe behind the wheel.

5. Once you have a DVR you will never view tv the same again/ Rett Jaques
true. The master/servant roles have changed. With this wonderful technology I get drinks, answer the phone, and get more salsa at my leisure. I make the rules now. But I find myself watching more TV, even amidst a writer's stike! I know there is no new 30 rock. I know there is no new edisode of the Office. But still I scroll through the guide. "OH, This is Spinal Tap starts in 2 hours, and World's Most Dangerous Jobs is on. He's cleaning a dingy in the San Franisco bay. I have the power to watch at my fingertips. I will make time later. Record. Record." And with each click of record the TV regains its control over me. My happy season as ruler will be short. I can feel it in the air already. Soon the TV, like the flat screened ring of power it is, will have it's way with me again. I am weaker than the hobbits. Yes, Rett was right. Regardless of whether or not the DVR will a great thing for me in the long run, I will certainly never view the TV the same again.

Among propositions currently being considered are:
1. Radiohead is the most important band ever. (or some variation of that.)/ Tyler Henderson
2. Rock Band is better than Guitar Hero/ Myself
3. Barack Obama is the best canidate for President/ Edward Kennedy and Common
4. Jon McCain is the best canidate for President/ The Terminator
5. Mitt Romeny is the best canidate for President/ owner of mini van next to me in traffic today
6. Hilary Clinton is the best canidate for President/ Maya Angelou


the truth is out there. here's to the quest.