Something new at Fransted

That’s right. SNOW 2-3 inches of it. What a wacky time we had (25 years camping here and this is the first time we saw this!)

We spent a lot of time at Chutters (it was snowing after all)

Luckily we know what to do when its snowing

it did stop snowing on Sunday so we were able to take a quick hike

and on Monday? Sunny and warm. Karen & Greg told us not to rush home, so we didn't. 

When People Get You

A coworker came back from holiday and said "I got you a present". 

The present? A pin? 

And what did that pin say?

Recommended Dosages Are For Pussies

Happy Mother's Day

Was anyone awoken to breakfast in  bed? Spotty woke Boy Toy up "sorry Dad, but we have to get stuff ready for mom!"

Spotty took his dad to Duncan Donuts where he ordered me a mother's day donut, a glazed "no dad, a french cruller" and an ice tea. he bought  breakfast for us all and wouldn't let Boy Toy pay.  He make a few things in school for me. Yes of course I cried. I also got a Star Wars Tshirt, R2D2 boxer shorts, a Led Zeppelin Tshirt, a new camera (thank GOD our old one was having trouble taking a decent shot) and last but not least the video game Dishonored. 

How is that you say?

You have to remember, once you decapitate someone you have to run back for the head after hiding the body;.

A WTF moment

So I went food shopping today, after work, at the supermarket I go to at least once a week. I was just about done, full cart. I just needed  to grab a small ham (Spotty has decided he will eat a ham sandwich if I cook the ham), and some ice cream sandwiches. The area was crowded so I pulled my cart to the side and walked 5 or 6 steps to grab the ham. I grabbed my ham and went back to my cart....but where oh where was my cart? Perhaps I didn't leave it next to the tomatoes, so I went and looked next to the bananas, then the tomatoes again and then the carrots. Then I went back to the bread isle, the gingerale isle. I went to the ice cream isle in case I had momentarily gone insane and picked up the ice cream first instead of the natural order of things (last). I went back to the produce isles and went up and down cursing at times WTF did my carriage go? I called Boy Toy (to make sure he wasn't actually at the store and just fucking with me). He suggested I go to the front of the store to see if someone was checking out with my stuff.  I then went through every isle. Then I went to the employees and they went to the loudspeaker and asked "dear shoppers please take a look at your shopping cart. If its the wrong one please bring it back to the produce department. I waited, and cursed some more and then I said F this.

So I grabbed the ham (for tomorrow) some lettuce and tomatoes (for BLTs tonight) and some ice cream sandwiches for always. 

If it had been better living through chemistry I would have understood, but apparently I will be  back tomorrow for the rest of the items...

this is why i love my brother

Spring Has Sprung

And my boys are doing their best to spruce up the yard. Holy sheep shit batman it needs it.

 Boy Toy is a landscaper and the LAST thing he wants to do after a day of busting his hump landscaping is coming home...and landscaping. But our yard is such a FRELLING disaster that even Boy Toy said "Damn, we need to do something here."

Do you see all this stick breaking? There is a reason for it....we didn't get a burn permit, so everything that needs to be burnt? needs to go into that enormous fire you see below....

 Do you see all of that "stuff" behind Spotty? all the stuff to the left and right of the motorcycle...yea, all of that needs to be burnt. Some of it has needed to be burnt for.....8 years? Why are we doing it now?

 Because the piles that were on the edge of our property....have crept into the middle of our property...and NOW Boy Toy wants to clean it up....(if i had known that was all it took  i would have been moving piles while he slept!)

 Look at Spotty Go! He is a machine!!! 

After all of that hard work, we had to introduce him to one of life's greatest pleasures....well, at least it's one of ours....

I wonder if the wifi would reach the hammock?

My baby is growing up

Last night Spotty Chop made us dinner. Things were a bit hectic and when we were trying to think of something to have for dinner I suggested Boboli pizza. Spotty put his hand it the air. "WAIT! I will make you guys dinner!" Sounded good to us, when we went into the kitchen I started grabbing stuff and Spotty said "get out! I don't want you in the kitchen". So we left. He asked Boy Toy's help with putting stuff into the oven. 

He made us Pizza folds. Spotty folded the Boboli in half, filled it with sauce and cheese and baked it. They flipped it at one point. He then cut it and served it UP!

Spotty was soooo freakin proud of himself. It was adorable. When we were done he said, "I am happy to make you this whenever you want. You just let me know".

I could EAT HIM he is so delicious 

Thank God for my Parents

It's school vacation here in the Northeast  and I seriously don’t know how people do shit without their parents nearby. I am in a hellish week with work, trying to come up with functional specs for an extremely large project I have lucked upon. Which means that I really can’t take any time off to spend with Spotty Chop. Boy Toy FINALLY has a job again (6 months) so obviously he can’t take time off either. The YMCA offers camp, but Spotty Chop doesn't care for their “school vacations” that they hold at the Y. He can’t pinpoint what he doesn't like, but he is not a fan. Is there anything worse than being in a situation where  you can’t make your kid feel better? I am and will always be the bread winner of the family. I would love to be able to stay home with Spotty Chop, but that alas is not our life (and there is NO WAY IN FING HELL I will let Boy Toy stay home with him, there would be muuurrrrrderrr.)

Yesterday we drove to the Y, Spotty a bit glum as he just didn't want to go, but understands that we have to work. So we walk up the stairs,  outside the door is a counselor who says “what up Spotty?” Spotty says hi. We walk into controlled chaos and  Gamer an older friend who is in the after-school program runs up to him yelling “SPOTTY YOU ARE IN MY GROUP” Spotty smiles and runs to the lockers to put his backpack and coat up. I was signing him in and one of his counselors from the summer program walked in, as soon as he saw Spotty chop he starts yelling at the top of his lungs “SPOTTY IN DA HAUSE”. At this point,  I am sure it will be obvious, Spotty never looked back.  When I picked him up he said he had a great day.

Today Spotty was supposed to go to my parents. They are taking him a couple of  days this week so that he doesn't have to go to the Y for the whole time. I was supposed to drop him off around 9, but I was of course stuck in meetings till 10. My dad met us half way to our house so I could get back to work. He takes so much time off of work just to be with Spotty. My mom moves her schedule around at the drop of a hat so she can help out. I am so fortunate to have them near. Anyhoo Spotty is supposed to have soccer tonight and Boy Toy is picking him up from my parents to bring him back. I just  called Papa to say “whatever you are doing stay doing it”  Boy Toy won’t be picking him up till 4:45 . Spotty got on the phone to tell me about their adventure. They were at a farm and he had seen, an opossum, fox, great horned owl, chicken, sheep and goats. “I got WOOL MAMA”. Wool I said? “it is so amazing, it is so cuddly and warm, I bet that is why you are warm when you wear sweaters. Can I tell you something? Our tickets let us be in a raffle so we might get a wool wrap or sweater, isn't that cool?”

Hell to the yes baby! Soak in these memories! 

Dear Spotty Chop you are 96 months old today

Happy Birthday! I can’t believe you are 8. I’ve missed a couple of letters…I know shocking, work has been crazy busy and I’ve been traveling to NYC. We had a great day with you today. A VERY full day. You have had a plan in mind for awhile and we stuck to it like glue.

Wake up

Eat pandycakes

Open presents

Go to skating

Go to DQ for a Fanta drink (they have the most awesome drink dispenser -  you chose Fanta Lime)

Go to GameStop purchase games

Head down to Providence

Go to Dave & Buster’s for lunch

Go to movies – see Escape from Planet Earth

Go back to D&B’s

Go home

Open more presents

Eat Ice Cream Cake

Mission accomplished.

This past month you got new glasses, went on skates for the first time (and LOVE IT) and started swimming lessons up again. For the past 3 months you have been crazy for making board games. You do it at your afterschool program, you do it when you are with papa, you do it when you are with us. You just can’t stop. They are usually fun to play (impossible to win…)

I went to your school to read to your class for your birthday. I picked  “Weird but True! 4: 300 Outrageous Facts”. You love these books with a passion and  you like reading them to us on our way up (or back) from the White Mountains. It just so happened that your class is doing a section on  non-fiction, which was a very nice cowinkydink.  The kids in your class are a lot of fun. In fact I was in your class twice this past month. I went in the day before Valentines to be a “cashier” during your Valentine shopping spree. I manned the ribbon counter. You guys got to go from station to station purchasing items to decorate your valentine containers. You bought a LOT of ribbons, actually all your friends did, your teacher had to run to resupply me.  I love seeing you with your friends.

We didn’t get to see you at the snowflake ball this year. The bride’s dad passed away and then Jman’s mom was told on Friday afternoon (the ball was Friday night) that there were too many people and they couldn’t go  which would have sucked….well Boy Toy wouldn’t have gone and I would have taken Jman and you, but instead Campbell and Jman went in our place. You and Jman had a blast.

You got to do an overnight with Nannie and Papa during February break– papa takes Friday’s off now, but at 1:00pm he told everyone that it was a Spotty Chop day and he had better things to do. You two are as thick as thieves and I love how much the two of you love each other. Papa has shingles right now so he hasn’t been able to play with you. Let’s hope he gets well soon.

I hope this is a great  year for you!

Love you kiddo!!!!

Looking Good Spotty Chop

New things are happening all over for you!

Holy Sheep Shit Spotty Chop...what are you doing?

Yesterday Spotty Chop  got on skates for the very first time. They sent something home from school about signups and he decided he wanted to try it.

God it was hard to watch in the beginning, he kept falling, but much to my surprise, he kept getting up. Spotty Chop's usual response to something that is hard to do is to quit. He doesn't quit forever, but he usually needs to walk away. He never seemed to get frustrated with this. He just kept getting up and moving forward, often by himself, without a coach around. He hooked up with a young guy who focused on him and must have encouraged the hell out of him because by the time the class ended, he was kicking a ball around the ice.

His class was at 10. At 2:30 Boy Toy says "Hey bud there is a free skate do you want to go"? Never expecting him to want to. "Hell yes" yelled Spotty Chop. By the end of the free skate Spotty was skating around the rink. He is still obviously a beginner, but WTF? I don't remember skating being that easy to learn...He BEST NOT want to play HOCKEY.

THIS is making me LAUGH AND LAUGH AND LAUGH

A coworker sent this to me today. She thought I would appreciate 

Happy New Year! NO NUTS FOR YOU!

My God do we have a lot to catch up on (if you have already heard the drama scroll down to the bottom for photos) 

We had a dramastical New Year's Eve. We had plans to hang out with JMan and family, Spotty Chop couldn't wait. But wait he had to...My parents give Boy Toy pistachios or some form of nut every Xmas. Since I am allergic to tree nuts  I don't buy them, I won't die if they are in the house, but even before my allergy kicked in, I wasn't a huge nut fan (unless they were swimming in chocolate). So Boy Toy is eating nuts and Spotty Chop says "can I try"? So we said sure. After he had 2 I told him to stop for a minute (he really liked them). Because of my allergy I wanted to make sure that he didn't have a problem. In less than a minute he started to complain that his tongue itched, then he said his throat felt funny. I ran to get Benadryl. By the time I got back to him (I live in a ranch it wasn't more than a minute) he had hives around his mouth and eyes. Spotty started to freak a bit, which is totally understandable. I am sure he was picking up our vibe, even though we were trying to play it totally cool I was REALLY nervous that his reaction came on so swift for so few nuts. So I called the emergency line and spoke with a doc. I again got a bit more nervous as they didn't take my info and call me back, they ran and got someone to speak to me right away. I explained the situation, my history, what we did and how he was and the doc said "you are doing everything right", nervous tears start to flow. They told us to keep an eye on him for 45 minutes and if he didn't get worse he would be fine. I guess Anaphlaxis happens within that time period. BUT if his tongue or lips started to swell or if he started vomiting we needed to call 911. I can deal with that, except a few minutes after I hung up Spotty started complaining of feeling sick. So Boy Toy and I did the....do we go to the ER or don't we dance, is he feeling sick because he is about to go into shock or is he just traumatized?

I won't leave you in suspense. Spotty is fine. At the 40 minute mark his hives had disappeared and by 45 minutes he felt great and was ready to go out. So out we went and had a lovely night. The boys played on their DS's till their eyeballs bled and we hung out at a bonfire. 

The next day we decided to go sledding. I of course after last years incident wanted to have nothing to do with it. But the boys insisted so I went and took a photo or two...

Some Older boys were "snowboarding" with their sleds. Spotty wanted to try

 I can't get either of them to stop sledding. They go every chance they get. Hell they even dragged my dad with them last weekend while I was getting my hair done.